It's interesting that every generation, we saw Ray Tracing improvement outpace the Raster improvement as that has been Nvidia's forte until Blackwell where it's about the same % increase as Raster with 5080 even being slightly less.

NVIDIA releases Optix 9 with RTX Mega Geometry and Neural Texture Compression SDKs

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-releases-optix-9-with-rtx-mega-geometry-and-neural-texture-compression-sdks

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D reportedly listed at $699 and 9900X3D at $599 on Newegg, spotted by price comparison sites

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9-9950x3d-reportedly-listed-at-699-and-9900x3d-at-599-on-newegg-spotted-by-price-comparison-sites

FFmpeg receives AMD AMF decoder and FSR-base upscaling support

https://videocardz.com/newz/ffmpeg-receives-amd-amf-decoder-and-fsr-base-upscaling-support

AMD Medusa Point/Ridge/Halo and Range may share the same 12-core Zen6 CCD

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-medusa-point-ridge-halo-and-range-may-share-the-same-12-core-zen6-ccd

If true, 12 Cores per CCD would be nuts, especially with X3D.

PlayStation Network Is Still Down After Over 14 Hours With No Official Communication

https://wccftech.com/playstation-network-down/

Now imagine if PSN was mandatory for single player games on PC. You wouldn't be able to play them during the outage lmao.

AMD increasing the core count per CCD from 8 to 12 is a necessary movement. After all, Intel's next parts are rumored to come with up to 16 performance cores and 32 efficient ones, and those efficient cores aren't that weak. So, with the prospect of facing parts with 48 cores/threads (more with the low power ones). AMD will need something more than 16 cores/32 threads to beat them in productivity tasks.

Besides, it was about time AMD upgraded the core count. They'v been using the same 8-core per CCD design since the Zen2 parts of the 3000 series.

Zen 6 is done in TSMC's N3, which in theory consumes 30% less power at the same clock speeds, so it's a good opportunity to add more cores for a small increase in power consumption (assuming frequency is no higher nor a much more complex CCD design, that is).

You could even argue that they've been using it since Zen1, though they weren't chiplets yet at the time.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 User Reports Melted 12-Pin Connector On Both GPU & Cable, Marking The First Such Case With RTX 50 Series

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5090-melted-12-pin-connector-both-gpu-cable/

Here we go again... I swear if they limited to 300-350 watts per cable, no issues would have happened.

French Retailer Lists 20th February As The Release Date For NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU

https://wccftech.com/french-retailer-lists-20th-february-release-date-for-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070-ti-gpu/

AMD Rumored To Price Radeon RX 9000 GPUs ‘Aggressively’ To Compete With NVIDIA

https://wccftech.com/amd-to-price-radeon-rx-9000-gpus-aggressively/

The PlayStation Network outage proves PC gamers were right to resist its mandatory sign-in requirement

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/the-playstation-network-outage-proves-pc-gamers-were-right-to-resist-its-mandatory-sign-in-requirement/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhtwitter&utm_content=null

Let’s go with another Monday with lots of news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Manor Lords, the best city builder of 2024, hits 3 million sales as players continue to fill its maps with muddy medieval towns
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/manor-lords-the-best-city-builder-of-2024-hits-3-million-sales-as-players-continue-to-fill-its-maps-with-muddy-medieval-towns/
Our favourite city builder of 2024, Manor Lords, is having a pretty great 2025 as well. Following a meaty update that introduced a pair of new maps, bridges, building upgrades and a bunch of fixes, it's now hit the 3 million sales mark. Not bad for solo developer Slavic Magic—though that characterisation did net the developer a bit of flak last year, since contractors have also contributed to the game.

Final Fantasy 14 is, you guessed it, still making bank for Square Enix as Dawntrail rakes in the big bucks, though it might not be all sunshine and tacos
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-is-you-guessed-it-still-making-bank-for-square-enix-as-dawntrail-rakes-in-the-big-bucks-though-it-might-not-be-all-sunshine-and-tacos/
It's been confirmed for a while that the Final Fantasy 14, which reached its 10th year recently, has been a load-bearing game for Square Enix's balance sheets. That was as per a fiscal report ending in March 2024 (the pre-Dawntrail times) that saw it making up 68.4% of its operating profits.
This was then confirmed again, when a report for the first half of the fiscal year ending in March 2025 (the post-Dawntrail times) said that it was, uh, still doing that, forming part of an MMO segment that raked in ¥13.1 billion (about $86 million) for the company (while its "HD games" segment lost it ¥1.2 billion, or $7.8 million).
Well, I am once more here to report that Final Fantasy 14 is continuing to do exceptionally well in yet another set of financial reportage—but this time the results are consolidated. Snazzy! Because this is a summary, there aren't any numbers to go off for FF14 specifically, but Square says the segment's been doing just as well—better, even.
"In the MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) Game sub-segment, net sales and operating income rose compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year on the launch of 'FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail,' the latest expansion pack for 'FINAL FANTASY XIV.'" For reference, that full fiscal year's report saw the segment pulling in ¥19.3 billion (approx. $126 million) in operating income, and ¥47.3 billion (around $310 million) in net sales, so Dawntrail is making more than that.

Hell has frozen over, pigs are flying, and a Square Enix game has actually managed to exceed the publisher's ludicrous sales expectations
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/hell-has-frozen-over-pigs-are-flying-and-a-square-enix-game-has-actually-managed-to-exceed-the-publishers-ludicrous-sales-expectations/
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a videogame failing to meet Square Enix's sales targets. Last year saw Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 falling short of whatever number the publisher cooked up in suited-up boardrooms, and before that it said Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy undershot expectations, and called Marvel's Avengers disappointing. Ouch.
It's a tale as old as time, but wait. I'm here to report an anomaly. A telenovela twist. One of Square Enix's children has not only satisfied its sales targets, but it actually managed to bring out an incredibly rare "stronger sales than initially assumed" from the publisher's latest financial report. And no, for once, it's not Final Fantasy 14 being paraded around as the golden child—though it's still the publisher's major moneymaker, for what it's worth.
This time it's the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake which, while Square Enix doesn't say how many units sold across all its platforms or just how much better it did sell than expected, does specifically mention it as a reason behind "sub-segment operating income" increasing, along with "lower development cost amortization and advertising expenses compared with the same period of the previous year."

Steam has several deals and events/sales:

• Publisher 2 Left Thumbs puts its titles on sale with up to 75% discounts until February 14: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/2LeftThumbs2025
• MangaKa, that has a demo, will be 30% off until the 16th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2234500/MangaKa/
• Publisher Arc System Works’s February Sale 2025 has games up to 90% off until the 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33025239/sale/ArcSystemWorksFebruarySale2025
• Have a Nice Death will have a 50% discount until February, the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1740720/Have_a_Nice_Death/
• Publisher QubicGames celebrates its 21st anniversary with up to 80% discounts until the 21st of February: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44970679/sale/QubicGames21stAnniversary
• And the Tokyo Game Dungeon 7 Event/Expo, featuring indie games, has lots of upcoming games, some with deamos, and also some already available titles, some of which are on sale. The event will last until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/TokyoGameDungeon7

Humble Bundle presents the Better With a Friend: Co-op Adventures Bundle, featuring up to 6 games to get during the next 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/better-with-friend-coop-adventures.

And Fanatical has two deals:

• The Star Deal is Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition, 51% off. It started yesterday and will last another 24 hours or until it runs out of keys: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/resident-evil-4-gold-edition
• A new BundleFest has started, and today’s bundle is the Build your own Debut Bundle, featuring 14 games that haven‘’t been part of other bundles before to get in groups of 3+ or 7+ during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-debut-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Steam makes its ban on games that rely on in-game ads even more explicit, so no 'watch this to continue playing' stuff will be making its way to our PCs
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/valve-bans-games-that-rely-on-in-game-ads-from-steam-so-no-watch-this-to-continue-playing-stuff-will-be-making-its-way-to-our-pcs/
First reported by Gaming on Linux, Valve has added a new advertising page to its Steamworks developer documentation. The page outlines what kinds of advertising and promotion it will allow on Steam, while explicitly banning in-game ads as a revenue model on the ubiquitous PC gaming platform.
Product placement is still in, so long as "such portrayals are not disruptive and are appropriate within the context of the game." Valve gives a racing game with real life sponsors on the cars as one example of what's okay, and it sure sounds like my dream reboot of Pepsiman could still find a home on the store, thank god. Cross-promotions are allowed too, but Valve states "under no circumstances is it okay to charge developers to participate in a bundle or sell access to a store page or other page on Steam." Last, paid advertising campaigns outside Steam that lead to a store page are also fair game.
What's been banned is any form of in-game advertising that gates access to, or otherwise interferes with, gameplay. "Developers should not use paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as requiring players to watch or otherwise engage with advertising in order to play," Valve writes on the page. Basically, it sounds like a blanket ban on any sort of "watch this ad to play the game" design, and it also extends to in-game ads being tied to rewards like power ups or in-game currency.
Update 10/02/2025: As noted by SteamDB on Bluesky, while this specific page on Steam's advertising policy is new, the policy itself is not. Valve has had a ban on these kinds of in-game ads in Steam games for the last five years at minimum, viewable on its pricing policy page.

NVIDIA RTX Mega Geometry Tech Demo Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-rtx-mega-geometry-tech-demo-released/
Today we have two cool tech demos to share with our NVIDIA fans. The first one shows off the RTX Mega Geometry tech, whereas the second focuses on the RTX Neural Texture Compression.
The good news here is that these tech demos work on pretty much all RTX GPUs. In other words, they are not exclusive to the RTX50 series. Thus, all who own an RTX GPU can download and try them.
RTX Mega Geometry accelerates BVH building, making it possible to ray trace up to 100x more triangles than today’s standard. RTX Mega Geometry intelligently updates clusters of triangles in batches on the GPU. In theory, this should reduce CPU overhead and increase performance and image quality in ray-traced scenes. Plus, it can reduce VRAM consumption.
On the other hand, RTX Neural Texture Compression employs AI to compress textures. As such, it can lower VRAM utilization by up to eight times while preserving visual integrity. This is a cool tech that will help all GPUs that have less than 16GB of VRAM in future titles. Well, that is provided the games support it.
You can download these tech demos from here and here. Once you download the SDKs, you can find the demos inside their folders. Since these are demos from the SDKs, they may not blow you away. Thus, make sure to temper your expectations.
Below you can also find a video for RTX Neural Texture Compression. Sadly, I could not find any for the RTX Mega Geometry demo.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth 4K Mod now overhauls over 3900 textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-4k-mod-now-overhauls-over-3900-textures/
Modder ‘Romi’ has released a new version of his amazing 4K Texture Pack for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. The pack is now 27GB in size, and overhauls over 3900 textures. Thus, it’s a must for everyone who currently plays it.
Even on Ultra Settings, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth has a lot of low-res textures. And that’s exactly what this mod aims to resolve. Right now, it upscales most of the non-4k nature textures. So, expect better textures for things like trees, cliffs, rocks, stones, ground, grass, flowers, and puddles.
I’ve been using this pack and I highly recommend downloading it. You can do so from this link. Its installation is also super easy. All you have to do is drop the files into the “Final Fantasy 7 RebirthEndContentPacks~mods” folder.
Romi also suggests using these commands to improve the LODs MipMaps and Texture streaming. So, you might also need to add them to your Engine.INI file.
>> Besides the changes to the .ini file, the article also has an over 7 minutes video.

Classic Doom just got a Doom: The Dark Ages-inspired Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/classic-doom-just-got-a-doom-the-dark-ages-inspired-mod/
The Darkfall dev team has released the first version of Doom Darkfall, a new Doom: The Dark Ages-inspired mod for classic Doom. This mod brings the gameplay, weapons, chainshield, melee items & more from Doom The Dark Ages to the original Doom 1 & 2.
It’s basically a simple but cool mod for all old-school Doom fans. So, waste no time and make sure to download it from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find a gameplay video for it.
Do note that this is the second pre-alpha for Doom Darkfall. As such, you might see many visual placeholders, and may encounter some gameplay issues. The team will fix most of them as development progresses.
>> In the article you’ll find an almost 10 minutes video of the mod.

Bloodborne PC Remaster Mod V0.87 Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/bloodborne-pc-remaster-mod-v0-87-available-for-download/
Modder ‘fromsoftserve’ has released version 0.87 of his amazing remaster mod for Bloodborne. This is a must-have for everyone who wants to play Bloodborne on PC via the PS4 emulator, shadPS4. So, let’s take a look at it, shall we?
For those unaware, Bloodborne Remaster Project aims to provide the best visuals for it. The mod enables dynamic shadowcasting for the entire game. It also modifies the range and visibility of shadows. Not only that but it packs some higher-quality textures.
Version 0.87 brings big updates to Hunters Dream, Central Yharnam, Cathedral Ward, Old Yharnam, Hemwick, and Burgertown. Moreover, Cainhurst has snow again.
Bloodborne PC Remaster V0.87 comes in two versions. The first is without the Upscaled Textures (so it’s ideal for those who want to use it alongside some other HD Texture Packs). The second version has the new enhanced textures.
>> There’s an almost 50 minutes video of it.

First Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 4K Mod Improves All Faces
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/first-kingdom-come-deliverance-2-4k-mod-improves-all-faces/
Modder ‘CRT’ has released the first 4K Texture Pack for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 that improves the faces of all in-game characters. This includes all NPCs, as well as the main story characters.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one of the most optimized PC games of 2025. However, the game does have a lot of low-res textures. And that’s where this 4K Texture Pack comes in. By using it, you will be able to enhance all of the faces in the game.
Below you can find a comparison between a vanilla and a modded face. Just look at how much better the new texture is. This is exactly what I want to see from HD Texture Packs. So, kudos to CRT for delivering such a solid pack.
>> In the article there’s a comparison screenshots as well as a video.

Baldur’s Gate 3 just got a Warcraft-inspired custom campaign
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/baldurs-gate-3-just-got-a-warcraft-inspired-custom-campaign/
Baldur’s Gate 3 and Warcraft fans, here is something special for you today. Modder ‘SquallyDaBeanz’ has just released Forsaken, a custom campaign that is set in the universe of Warcraft. So, let’s take a look at it.
Forsaken is a recreation of the Undead starting zone “Tirisfal Glades” from World of Warcraft (Classic/Vanilla). This first release includes only the teaser level starting area. The ultimate goal is to, one day, include more areas from WoW. So, let’s hope that the modder will not abandon it.
Right now, the mod has 5 quests and a new storyline. It also allows you to interact with NPCs, explore a town, and fight some monsters. Plus, there is a new Party Camp.
In future versions, the modder plans to add Skill Checks and Inspiration Points. We may also get complete NPC dialogue and branching conversation paths. Moreover, there are plans for custom music triggers and varied combat music, new loot, new areas (duh), as well as more puzzles and secrets.
This mod sounds too ambition for one person. So, I don’t really know whether this mod will ever be completed. Still, and contrary to other mods, we have a teaser for it so that’s at least something.
>> There are two videos in the article.

Starfield just got new HD Texture Pack for all male & female NPCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/starfield-just-got-new-hd-texture-pack-for-all-male-female-npcs/
It’s been a while since the last mod we shared for Starfield, don’t you agree? Well, today we bring you a must-have HD Texture Pack that covers all male and female NPCs.
This mod will mainly enhance the faces of the NPCs. As such, it’s a must as the default NPC faces were not that great.
Going into more details, the mod comes with HD diffuse maps with adjusted skin tones and unique facial details for each map. Every face now has its own eye color and reflections. You can also expect enhanced HD normal maps and 1k specular maps. Plus, there are new balanced AO maps to better match ages and racial details.
You can download the mod from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find some screenshots. These screenshots will give you an idea of what you can expect from it. As such, I recommend viewing them before downloading it.

Here's a Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth mod to make catching chocobos trivial
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/heres-a-final-fantasy-7-rebirth-mod-to-make-catching-chocobos-trivial/
Naoki Hamaguchi, director of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, has said, "As someone who plays games on PC, I sometimes use mods myself," and added that "I see it as a positive thing myself." Which is why I expect there to be absolutely no complaints about the coming influx of mods that make the more boring parts of Cloud's Big Adventure easier to rush through on your way to the next game of Queen's Blood.
Modder LordGregory is responsible for this one, Easy Chocobo Catch, which means you won't have to replay any of the auto-fail stealth sequences where you sneak up on that region's chocobo. Normally these are something you need to cross off your bottomless checklist of tasks before you can use a region's Chocobo Stops as fast-travel points, and given that some chocobos have special traversal moves, may need to be completed before you can access parts of each map.
Where normally you'd have to sneak up on the head chocobo, bypassing their guards by hiding behind mine carts or whatever, with Easy Chocobo Catch the birds won't see you even if you crouch-walk right in front of them. It also triples your speed for good measure. Catching chocobos isn't the most difficult challenge in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but it's yet another point of slowdown and friction in a game with so much friction it can feel like wading through dry sand.
While you're browsing Nexus Mods, have a look at Most Combative Team Members, which makes your party members more likely to attack while you're not controlling them, and Silent Chadley and Mai in the Open World, which casts Shushaga on your talkative cyborg friends. Now if only there was a mod to get rid of the autofail stealth bit in the protorelic quest. Or give the game a satisfying ending.
>> The article has no media.

Sony enforcers execute a legal visceral attack on the BloodbornePSX demake, continuing its mission to eradicate all traces of FromSoft's beloved RPG on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/sony-enforcers-execute-a-legal-visceral-attack-on-the-bloodbornepsx-demake-continuing-its-mission-to-eradicate-all-traces-of-fromsofts-beloved-rpg-on-pc/
It's been a hectic week for throwback game specialist and Bloodborne superfan Lilith Walther. The designer behind Nightmare Kart revealed a nifty-looking expansion for her brilliant Bloodborne spoof a few days ago, which brings sniper rifles and harpies to its cosmic horror karting. Yet around the same time, Sony took a threaded cane to her earlier work, a more straightforward demake of Bloodborne with PS1 era visuals, released in 2021.
In a thread on Bluesky, Walther outlined the situation, which started with her posting a video promoting BloodbornePSX on YouTube. "I have now been provided with evidence that Markscan is working under Sony to issue a legitimate DMCA takedown on my video." Walther subsequently explained that the takedown was aimed not at the video itself, but the download link in the description. In compliance with the request, Walther removed the link, but also said she had taken the decision to "not make the fan game available to download in the future."
This is likely because MarkScan, the company working as a copyright enforcer on behalf of Sony, also issued a takedown notice for Bloodborne PSX's Itch.io page. In its notice (via The Verge) MarkScan claims it has found "copyright infringements" on the itch page, and that Walther is therefore "indulging in acts of digital piracy".
(...)
Perhaps that's because MarkScan is cracking down on Bloodborne-related fan projects at large. The enforcer was also behind the recent removal of a 60 fps patch compatible with the ShadPS4 emulator, one of the few ways you can technically play Bloodborne on PC. The patch's creator, Lance McDonald, commented on X that the DMCA takedown was "from the same company that SIE hired to take down the 60fps patch".

The best way to play Diablo 1 on pretty much anything just got an update for a 20-year-old Apple OS that runs on a dead chipset, one lunatic somewhere presumably rejoices
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-best-way-to-play-diablo-1-on-pretty-much-anything-just-got-an-update-for-a-20-year-old-apple-os-that-runs-on-a-dead-chipset-one-lunatic-somewhere-presumably-rejoices/
It's my understanding that, for some reason, people keep making ARPGs. This befogs me. As a people, we really kind of hit the nail on the head with Diablo 1. Do we need more? More enemies? More loot? More graphics? Of course not. We only need more ways to play Diablo 1 on more and more esoteric devices.
Enter DevilutionX, a source port for the original Diablo that has, for years, been merrily making Blizzard's classic playable on just about anything. No, really, anything. Modern Windows? Of course. MacOS? Try something harder. 3DS? You betcha. Want to play OG Diablo on your Amiga, original Xbox, or Vita? Of course you do; who wouldn't? With DevilutionX, it's all possible (so long as you have a legit copy of the original game, like the one on GOG).
I've actually waxed lyrical about the port before—it's how I played D1 for the first time a couple of years ago—and now I'm here to inform you that it's just got a new update. The headline item of the 1.5.4 patch is, I guess, that the new version has tweaked its gamepad support to better make use of your controller in this PC game from 1996. Specifically, it's now easier to zip about stash using your DualSenses, XInput devices and what-have-you.
But what I actually want to talk about is the supported platforms added by the new version. Specifically, DevilutionX has made someone's day somewhere by adding support for macOS 10.4 PowerPC, and made probably a few more people's day by adding support for Windows XP, which I know some of you sickos are still using. Not that I blame you.

Doom 3 Essential HD Pack v2.0 Remaster Mod Update 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/doom-3-essential-hd-pack-v2-0-remaster-mod-update-2025/
Modder ‘H3llBaron’ has released a 2025 Update for his amazing Essential HD Pack v2.0 Remaster Mod for Doom 3. This mod will completely overhaul id Software’s horror take on the Doom franchise. As such, it’s one I highly recommend using.
Going into more details, Doom Essential HD Pack v2.0 Remaster upscales and enhances all of the textures in the base game, the Resurrection of Evil DLC, and The Lost Mission Mod. Moreover, it reworks and improves details for all levels, mapobjects, characters, monsters, and weapons.
This fan remaster also adds omitted/unused micro details and effects from E3 Alpha Tech Demo 2002. Plus, it includes the E3 Alpha Pistol, Shotgun and Machinegun.
With this mod, all the dead bodies stay on the place. Bullet shells will also stay forever in the ground. And that’s not all. Players can expect full self shadows on every model of the game. Oh, and there are also new effects for impacts, liquids and glasses to the game.
>> In the article there’s a less than two minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

EA has removed Denuvo from Immortals of Aveum
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ea-has-removed-denuvo-from-immortals-of-aveum/
Now here is a pleasant surprise. EA has just removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from Immortals of Aveum. Immortals of Aveum came out in August 2023, meaning that it took around one and a half years to remove it.

Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone hits Steam Early Access on March 6th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/chernobylite-2-exclusion-zone-hits-steam-early-access-on-march-6th/
The Farm 51 has announced that Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone will be coming to Steam Early Access on March 6th. To celebrate this announcement, the team has also shared the game’s story trailer, which you can find below.

Monday news, the second part:

Marvel Rivals devs conducted 'exhaustive research' to come up with the game's roster of heroes and abilities so it could live up to 'exceptionally high player expectations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-devs-conducted-exhaustive-research-to-come-up-with-the-games-roster-of-heroes-and-abilities-so-it-could-live-up-to-exceptionally-high-player-expectations/
(...)
From the start, I was impressed with how the 35 heroes currently in Marvel Rivals all managed to stand out with different strengths and playstyles. There were no copypaste stand-ins, and while there are a couple of shared abilities like double jumps or stuns, every hero ends up feeling unique.
Now, this didn't just happen by chance—in an interview with Unreal Engine, the lead technical designer Ruan Weikang describes just how much hard work went into creating each hero, their memorable abilities, and the Team-up abilities that have become so integral to the game.
>> Given the success of the game, seems that they made a good job with that research. By the way, there’s a leak about a new PVE mode.

Sweet liberty, the Illuminate are moving an entire wormhole across Helldivers 2's galaxy map to slam dunk it into Super Earth like a basketball
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/sweet-liberty-the-illuminate-are-moving-an-entire-wormhole-across-helldivers-2s-galaxy-map-to-slam-dunk-it-into-super-earth-like-a-basketball/
Oh, sweet liberty above—so, you know that big space hole that Helldivers 2 players accidentally tore open back in June of last year? Firstly, stop giggling at the phrase 'big space hole', it's undemocratic.
Secondly, I officially rescind my advice to stop worrying about it, because the Illuminate are, uh, moving it. Towards Super Earth. They're trying to take the thing and just… dunk it into our planet like a basketball. I think we have made some mistakes.
>> And JOEL stars in a video reflecting on the first year of the game

Rocksteady is looking to make a new singleplayer Batman game, but Warner's Wonder Woman game is struggling
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/rocksteady-is-looking-to-make-a-new-singleplayer-batman-game-but-warners-wonder-woman-game-is-struggling/
The good news out of Warner Bros. Games, according to a new Bloomberg report, is that after the flop of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady Studios is looking to make a new singleplayer Batman game. The bad news, however, is pretty much everything else.

MultiVersus is somehow using its dying breath to go full looney tunes and put out what may be one of its best patches, and now fans want it to be saved
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/multiversus-is-somehow-using-its-dying-breath-to-go-full-looney-tunes-and-put-out-what-may-be-one-of-its-best-patches-and-now-fans-want-it-to-be-saved/
MultiVersus may be saying "That's all folks!" one last time at the end of May, but that doesn't mean it's going down without a fight. In fact, it may have just used its dying breath to actually rally a small group of players to come to its defence with its fifth and final season implementing some major improvements.

Balatro 1.1 will include new jokers plus a revamp of a really confusing existing one
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/balatro-1-1-will-include-new-jokers-plus-a-revamp-of-a-really-confusing-existing-one/
In a new interview with Bloomberg, Balatro creator LocalThunk revealed some new details about the chaotic poker roguelike's major gameplay update coming later this year. Now titled update 1.1, publisher Playstack first revealed that more Balatro would be headed our way in 2025 back in August.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick takes a moment to remind us once again that 'there's no such thing' as artificial intelligence
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/take-two-ceo-strauss-zelnick-takes-a-moment-to-remind-us-once-again-that-theres-no-such-thing-as-artificial-intelligence/
It's fair to say that the use of generative AI in game development is not widely liked: Just witness the backlash when its presence is even suspected. On the other hand, it's not going away, and a significant portion of game developers are already using it in some capacity. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently shared some interesting thoughts on the matter: In an interview with GamesIndustry, he said it's not something to worry about because AI doesn't really exist at all.

Superb Bloodborne-inspired racing game Nightmare Kart is getting free DLC featuring sniper rifles and supercharged penny farthings
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/superb-bloodborne-inspired-racing-game-nightmare-kart-is-getting-free-dlc-featuring-sniper-rifles-and-supercharged-penny-farthings/
Bloodborne on PC may remain the dominion of dreamers and madmen, but in lieu of FromSoftware's gothic action-RPG finally discovering our eldritch realm, we always have Nightmare Kart. The tongue-in-cheek kart racer (which was originally titled Bloodborne Kart before Sony performed a legal visceral attack on its nomenclature) arrived on PC last year, wowing players with its comprehensive blend of Lovecraftian horror and steampunk racing contraptions. Featuring 15 tracks and 21 racers, all for the low, low price of free, it quickly garnered an 'overwhelmingly positive' rating on Steam.
Now, developer LWMedia has formally announced an expansion to Nightmare Kart, playfully titled "The Old Karts". This addon, which like the base game will be available for free, is set to add a whole new 'mini campaign' to the game, alongside new tracks, racers, karts, powerups, and game modes.

Resident Evil Re:Verse is reversing right off Steam, as Capcom claims it has served its 'original, celebratory purpose' despite mostly negative reviews
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/resident-evil/resident-evil-re-verse-is-reversing-right-off-steam-as-capcom-claims-it-has-served-its-original-celebratory-purpose-despite-mostly-negative-reviews/
Resident Evil Re:Verse, Capcom's deathmatch spinoff of its iconic horror series, will reverse its last roundhouse later this year, as the publisher has announced it's ceasing all service for the game in June.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2's latest update leads with a fancy datavault for your battle-barge, but I'm far more interested in the new tyranid unit with a cannon on its back
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/warhammer-40-000-space-marine-2s-latest-update-leads-with-a-fancy-datavault-for-your-battle-barge-but-im-far-more-interested-in-the-new-tyranid-unit-with-a-cannon-on-its-back/
I'll be honest, I almost passed on writing about Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2's datavault update. I like libraries as much as the next introvert, but they don't exactly make for gripping headlines (unless it's a library of digitised videogame magazines, that stuff rules). But then I discovered the datavault update doesn't just expand your in-game battle-barge with a fictional archive. It also adds a hulking new tyranid enemy with a massive biological gun on its back. Talk about burying the lede, Saber Interactive!

Update: The PlayStation Network appears to be coming back online after nearly a day's outage, but there's still no word from Sony on what happened
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/the-playstation-network-has-been-taken-completely-offline-across-all-platforms-for-more-than-half-a-day-preventing-online-gaming-streaming-store-purchases-game-updates-and-more/
The PlayStation network has been completely borked for 16 hours and counting at the time of writing, first going offline at 1 AM CET / 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT on February 8. Sony has yet to provide an explanation for the outage, which affects PSN logins and services across all platforms, including PS5, PS4, PS3, PS Vita, and PC. Update 2/8/2025, 3:00 PM CT: Some of PC Gamer's PS5-havers are once again able to access PSN, while I can also get to it on my PS4, and we're hearing scattered word to that effect on social media as well. Sony's PSN status page, however, is still reporting outages across all services. Sony has still not explained what caused the outage, but an ill-timed scheduled Twitter post about upgrading your PS5's hard drive on the Ask PlayStation support page has certainly made for a bad look. Update 2/9/2025, 11:00 AM CT: PlayStation Network services appear to be fully back up and running with still no word from Sony on what caused the outage—Sony has only said it was an "operational issue." Sony will be giving 5 free days to PlayStation Plus members as recompense.

And the Monday news, the third, and last, part:

Stimulation Clicker distills a decade of internet brainrot into exposure therapy that makes you stupid—plus, it's free!
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/stimulation-clicker-distills-a-decade-of-internet-brainrot-into-exposure-therapy-that-makes-you-stupid-plus-its-free/
If every single day you wake up, log on, and think "the internet sure is stupid," then have I got a game for you. Stimulation Clicker is another absolute banger from creator Neal Agarwal, whose weird little browser games are always a delight.

Forbidden Solitaire is an upcoming horror game about a cursed CD-ROM from the spookily distant year of 1995
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/forbidden-solitaire-is-an-upcoming-horror-game-about-a-cursed-cd-rom-from-the-spookily-distant-year-of-1995/
If I were presented with the opportunity to purchase and place into my disk drive a very obviously cursed CD from 1995 I would simply not do so. This is, of course, what sets me apart from the protagonist of Forbidden Solitaire, a person who would put a cursed disk into their computer and pay the requisite karmic price. (What we have in common is that our PCs still have a disk drive.)

The best unofficial Alien game is getting a spiritual successor where you carve up derelict ships and manage drones with 'personality quirks'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-best-unofficial-alien-game-is-getting-a-spiritual-successor-where-you-carve-up-derelict-ships-and-manage-drones-with-personality-quirks/
What's the best Alien game after Alien: Isolation? No, it isn't Aliens: Dark Descent, though that is an excellent real-time tactics take on James Cameron's sequel. Neither is it Alien: Rogue Incursion, Survios' recent VR spin on Isolation. The answer is, of course, Duskers, the 2016 indie game about scavenging derelict spacecraft using drones controlled remotely via a command-line interface.
Duskers may not be officially tied to Alien, but it captures the sci-fi peril of Ridley Scott's movie like few others, particularly the scene where the Nostromo crew watch the motion tracker, helpless, as the xenomorph chase down Dallas in the vents. Replace Tom Skerritt with a remote-controlled Roomba, and the motion tracker with a top-down blueprint of a spaceship, and you've got Duskers, baby.
Duskers' developer, Misfits Attic, hasn't released a game since, but studio founder Tim Keenan recently released a video (via RPS) revealing what he's been working on all this time. "For a while now, we've been heads-down exploring three new titles, and we finally have some playables" Keenan says at the outset. One of these games is codenamed "Humanity 2.0" and it is a spiritual successor to Duskers.

Abiotic Factor's massive Dark Energy update, which adds teleporters, pocket dimensions and black hole grenades to the Half-Life inspired survival sim, is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/abiotic-factors-massive-dark-energy-update-which-adds-teleporters-pocket-dimensions-and-black-hole-grenades-to-the-half-life-inspired-survival-sim-is-out-now/
Abiotic Factor's Dark Energy update is so vast and comprehensive it opened a rift right into The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, where developer Deep Field Games revealed the new faction, new gizmos, and enormous new area coming to the Half-Life inspired survival game. Indeed, it was large enough that the studio delayed the update out of 2024, and only now has Dark Energy formally arrived into the GATE Cascade Research Facility.

Blizzard co-founder and Diablo designer thinks new ARPGs have 'cheapened' the genre with fast leveling, throwaway loot and enemies
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/blizzard-co-founder-and-diablo-designer-thinks-new-arpgs-have-cheapened-the-genre-with-fast-leveling-throwaway-loot-and-enemies/
Speaking to VideoGamer, Blizzard co-founder and Diablo programmer/designer David Brevik expressed a dim view of the current state of Diablo-like ARPGs, arguing that inflated enemy numbers and a deluge of loot and experience have robbed the genre of the friction and weight present in the first two Diablo games.

Civilization 7 is coming to VR on Meta Quest 3, in case you'd like a full-size Benjamin Franklin to lecture you about stuff
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/civilization-7-is-coming-to-vr-on-meta-quest-3-in-case-youd-like-a-full-size-benjamin-franklin-to-lecture-you-about-stuff/
It's not quite out on PCs yet—unless you paid to play early—but it looks like a VR edition of Sid Meier's Civilization 7 will be coming to Meta Quest with its own unique features later this Spring.

Oh hell yeah, someone's making a game about customizing and off-roading RC cars in your backyard
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/oh-hell-yeah-someones-making-a-game-about-customizing-and-off-roading-rc-cars-in-your-backyard/
Some of the absolute best simulators recreate a hobby or career that you don't have the money, time, space, or energy to pursue yourself, but which you definitely, 100% find incredibly rad and would love to do. Thus the enduring popularity of flight sims, or the delightful joy of ruining big trucks in SnowRunner.
Well, here's one for just that niche: Indie dev Eugene Hatskevich is making TrophyRC, a game where you tinker with and drive little remote control cars over elaborate obstacle courses you build in your backyard. It's a to-scale offroading and bouldering game with all the whimsy and inventiveness you expect from the concept. You shouldn't build a giant seesaw for your multi-ton off-roader but you can totally build one for your little RC Cars.

Stealth tactics game Commandos: Origins will be out in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/stealth-tactics-game-commandos-origins-will-be-out-in-april/
It's a shame that Mimimi Games, the studio behind the Shadow Tactics games, closed down in 2023. But other studios have picked up the real-time stealth tactics slack, resulting in games like Sumerian Six, and the upcoming prequel to the Commandos series.
(...)
As well as singleplayer it'll have two-player co-op, which can be played either splitscreen local or online. Commandos: Origins is scheduled for release on April 9 via Steam, where you can currently download a demo.

I'm sure it's another case of user error for not plugging it fully in. 

With that said, we also know from reviewers that, if you overclock the card, it pulls more than the 600W the connector and cables are rated for, making it a potential danger if the connector or the cable don't support more than what they're designed for.

By the way, since we've talked about the Switch 2 and the hardware of it, the mouse function of the new controllers is now almost 100% guaranteed:

Newly unveiled Nintendo Switch 2 patent confirms mouse functionality and gives more details on exactly how it will work, and I don't know if I like it
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/newly-unveiled-nintendo-switch-2-patent-confirms-mouse-functionality-and-gives-more-details-on-exactly-how-it-will-work-and-i-dont-know-if-i-like-it/
With the Nintendo Switch 2 set to launch this year, there's plenty of fervour around the handheld but perhaps the most interesting new thing is confirmed in a recent patent. Said patent shows how you can use the new and improved Joy-Cons as lil' gaming mice, and suggests you can use both mouse inputs at the same time—dual-wielding, of sorts, which is enough to make any PC gamer blush.

Filed in 2023 but only published this week, a patent (via Notebook Check) describes an 'input device' (the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con), complete with a "sensor for mouse operation". Patents are always quite word-heavy, and so specific that they can be hard to read but this patent is even harder as it's originally filed in Japanese, a language no one on the team speaks fluently. However, there is an abstract at the top of the page going over some of the functionality and logistics of this mouse functionality.