That.......is pretty specific (the number of years)

Hey, I must've thought about it for a good 10 seconds or so! But honestly, I think I have more interesting stuff in my backlog for like 1.5-2 years of playing, and I'm sure I'll be able to find at least a year's worth of other more interesting games as well. Add in typical underestimation, and suddenly 4 years seems like a reasonable guess unless priorities change.

I only bought a couple.

Several games have been delisted from Steam, all originally published by Codemasters: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Rise of the Argonauts, Hospital Tycoon, Maelstrom: The Battle for Earth Begins, Toybox Turbos.

A couple, he says...

And it's a shame to see those games delisted. I hope it's just a temporary thing and EA will bring them back soon under its brand.

Me with aging hardware, barely much money to buy games at all, and not really having the time due to health concerns. 

Sometimes being an adult sucks. I do miss my times when I was young again, and playing my PS2 with friends at their houses, while not having to worry about taxes, bills, or my body muscle degradation. 

Welcome, to the Monday news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

We find two new deals at Humble:

• Humble Bundle has the Fulqrum Publishing Spring Break Bundle, with up to 7 games to get during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/fulqrum-publishing-spring-break
• At the Humble Store we find the Blossoming Savings Sale, with up to 92% discounts during 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/blossoming-savings-sale/

Fanatical has three new 24h Flash Deals and a new bundle:

• These are the Flash Deals:
  • Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT is 30% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut
  • DREDGE has a 59% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dredge
  • King Arthur: Knight's Tale is 78% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/king-arthur-knights-tale
• And the BYO Adventure Bundle features 18 titles for your bundles of 3+, 5+ or 7+ games during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-adventure-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve tracked 1.7 million Steam users who joined in 2023 to see if they stuck around—they did, and they spent $93 million
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/valve-tracked-1-7-million-steam-users-who-joined-in-2023-to-see-if-they-stuck-around-they-did-and-they-spent-usd93-million/
Valve has released the Steam year in review for 2024, in which the platform holder drowns us all in lovely stats and gives a snapshot of how we behave on the de facto PC gaming standard. Turns out people really love their Steam Decks!
One of the most interesting deep-dives comes near the end, when Valve goes into detail on new customers: Essentially breaking down why people create a Steam account, and then their general behaviour afterwards. Surprise surprise, Valve has "seen an encouraging pattern" around new users.
"Hit new releases are excellent at generating new first-time purchasers, and we've tried to build many platform features to encourage those new users to stick around, find more great games, and play with friends," writes the Valve business team.
"To gather data illustrating the effectiveness of that approach, we went all the way back to 2023 and identified the biggest 20 releases of that year. We looked at every new first-time purchaser generated by those products (that is, an account making a purchase, or redeeming a Steam key, for the first time) for a total of 1.7 million new users. Then we followed that cohort of new users."
>> The rest, in the article.

2024 was Steam's 'best year ever' of users buying newly released games—but I wouldn't celebrate the end of the forever game era just yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/2024-was-steams-best-year-ever-of-users-buying-newly-released-games-but-i-wouldnt-celebrate-the-end-of-the-forever-game-era-just-yet/
Yesterday, Valve published its yearly "Steam Year In Review" blog post, a retrospective highlighting Steam feature additions and customer data trends from 2024. Calling 2024 "a year of growth," Valve said Steam's number of peak concurrent users is nearly twice what it was in March 2020—and last year, all those users were playing more new games than ever.
"2024 was the Steam platform's best year ever in terms of customers buying newly released games," Valve said. In 2024, new release revenue on Steam, which Valve defines as sales revenue from the first 30 days after a product's release and any pre-purchases, was ten times higher than it was in 2014. More than 500 games earned more than $250,000 in new release sales, with more than 200 of those earning more than $1 million—an increase of 27% and 15% from 2023's numbers, respectively.
>> Not many games manage to make a lot of money. Anyway, more stats in the article.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Mod adds Ray Tracing to all NPCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-next-gen-mod-adds-ray-tracing-to-all-npcs/
One of my issues with the Next-Gen Update for The Witcher 3 was the way most – if not all – NPCs looked. During dialogues, all NPCs looked a bit out of place. And we now know why. From the looks of it, CDPR did not use Ray Tracing to enhance them. Thankfully, though, we have a mod that addresses exactly that.
The Ray Traced Characters Mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen adds RTAO shader to skin, hair, and eyes. This will noticeably improve all of the game’s NPCs, and it’s a must for everyone.
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 a pretty good idea of what you can expect from it.
Do note that this mod is only for the RT version of The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. In other words, you’ll have to enable RT (from the menu) to use it. Without RT, the mod may make the game look worse. So, be sure to keep that in mind.

GTA 5 Enhanced Edition looks even better with RealityV Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/gta-5-enhanced-edition-looks-even-better-with-realityv-mod/
Modder ‘BadassBaboon’ has released a new version of his RealityV Mod which is now compatible with the Enhanced Edition of GTA 5. This mod will improve the graphics of this new PC version of GTA 5. So, if you’re currently replaying it, I strongly suggest doing so with this mod.
Going into more details, RealityV for GTA 5 Enhanced Edition brings new 4K and 8K clouds to it. Moreover, it adjusts some color correction and tone mapping, and it improves the vignetting.
The mod also improves clear sky colors to work better with Enhanced’s RT. It also enhances fog during cloudy weather for better RT effects. Plus, it improves cloud generation for extra sunny weather.
Finally, the mod adds RealityV’s foggy weather, which was based on Silent Hill, to the Enhanced version.
>> The article has some screenshots and a video.

Unrealcraft Is Minecraft in Unreal Engine 5, Free Demo Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unrealcraft-is-minecraft-in-unreal-engine-5-free-demo-released/
Greg Coulthard has released UnrealCraft, an Unreal Engine 5.5 template that allows you to create Voxel Worlds with only blueprints. Basically, think of it as Minecraft in Unreal Engine 5. And, to be honest, this is actually pretty cool.
UnrealCraft comes with a procedural map generator and a block building system. There is also NPC support with NavMesh, Biome support, and a simple liquid propagation system. Plus, there are combinable noise functions for more complex terrains.
It’s also worth noting that UnrealCraft is packed with The Infinite World map. This is a Minecraft style procedurally generated world.
Now what’s cool here is that you can download a demo of it for free. So, if you want to give it a try, you can download its demo from this link.
Coulthard claims that the demo requires an RTX capable GPU and 16GB of RAM. Now I don’t know why there is an RTX requirement. After all, Unreal Engine 5.5’s Lumen and Nanite work perfectly on AMD’s hardware. Perhaps with “RTX capable GPU” the artist meant a GPU that can handle Ray Tracing?

Onimusha: Warlords just got a must-have 4K Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/onimusha-warlords-just-got-a-must-have-4k-texture-pack/
Modder ‘Evgeshajk’ has released a must-have AI-enhanced 4K Texture Pack for the remastered version of Onimusha: Warlords. The modder has used AI tools to enhance the game’s textures. And, as you will see, it looks incredible.
Onimusha: Warlords included updated features like HD graphics, a widescreen option, and analog stick support. It also had an Easy Mode, and a new soundtrack. However, it lacked higher-quality textures. And that’s what this pack aims to fix.
To be honest, this is one of the best AI-enhanced 4K Texture Packs I’ve ever seen. At the end of the article, you can find some comparison screenshots. And even without zooming in, you can immediately notice the visual improvements.
>> The game’s a lot less blurry, that’s for sure.

GAMING NEWS

CS:Legacy is a fully standalone fan remake of Counter-Strike 1.6
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cslegacy-is-a-fully-standalone-fan-remake-of-counter-strike-1-6/
Midnight Madness has announced CS:Legacy, a fully standalone fan remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 that will be coming to Steam later this year. To celebrate this announcement, the team has shared the game’s debut in-engine trailer that you can find below.
>> I don’t know if this has something to do with the Classic Offensive mod project that I’ve posted about a couple times. I think it doesn’t.

Forest Reigns gets an official deep-dive gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/forest-reigns-gets-an-official-deep-dive-gameplay-trailer/
IGN has shared an 8-minute deep-dive gameplay trailer for the new survival FPS from former STALKER devs, Forest Reigns. This trailer highlights three distinct mission approaches. As such, it emphasizes player freedom and environmental interaction in post-apocalyptic Paris.

Monday news, part two:

Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.2's trailer has me finally hyped to get stuck back in—and to go to the moon and pilot some mechs, because why not
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-patch-7-2s-trailer-has-me-finally-hyped-to-get-stuck-back-in-and-to-go-to-the-moon-and-pilot-some-mechs-because-why-not/
Final Fantasy 14's next big patch, 7.2, had both its release date trailer reveal and live letter broadcast today—and it's looking like the most jam-packed update we've had in a while. Here's a quick shortlist of what'll be bundled into the patch, and when (...)

Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/possibility-space-owners-sue-netease-for-usd900-million-over-allegations-it-spread-false-and-defamatory-rumors-of-fraud-at-the-studio-that-ultimately-forced-it-to-close/
The strange tale of the sudden 2024 closure of Possibility Space has taken another turn, as studio owners Jeff and Annie Strain have sued NetEase over allegations that it spread "false and defamatory rumors" about another Strain-owned studio, Crop Circle Games, in order to silence concerns about NetEase's compliance with US laws on foreign investment.

Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/another-live-service-shooter-is-getting-shut-down-this-time-before-it-even-launched-on-steam/
Back in June 2024, PC Gamer's Fraser Brown made a wish: He wanted the free-to-play hero shooter Star Wars: Hunters, which was then available for the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, to come to PC. In November 2024, his wish was granted—Star Wars: Hunters was set to launch on Steam in January 2025. But today I have to be the Break-a-Wish guy, because it looks like it's not going to happen, and in fact the whole thing is going away.
"After careful consideration, we want to let you know that the final content update for Star Wars: Hunters on all platforms will be on April 15th," a shutdown message states. "The game will remain playable until October 1st, 2025, when the game’s online servers will be shut down.

'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/it-really-truly-changed-my-life-in-every-possible-way-lady-dimitrescu-actor-says-her-resident-evil-village-role-was-just-as-transformative-for-her-as-it-was-for-roughly-half-the-internet-in-2021/
Lady Dimitrescu first appeared in a January 2021 teaser trailer that quickly cemented Resident Evil Village's place in the public consciousness as "the game with the big vampire lady." She swept the hearts, minds, and creative outputs of hordes of fan artists with such ferocity that I'm still not sure whether I could safely do a google image search on my work browser. According to Maggie Robertson, the actor who brought the vampire giantess to life, the role was equally transformative for her.

Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ubisoft-is-reportedly-talking-to-tencent-about-creating-a-new-business-entity-to-manage-assassins-creed-and-other-big-games/
A Bloomberg report says struggling publisher Ubisoft is looking for investors for a new business venture that will take control of some of its most valuable gaming properties, including Assassin's Creed. The report says Ubisoft has contacted potential investors including Tencent about acquiring a minority share in the new venture.
>> In other Ubisoft/AC related news, two parkour experts talk about how real it’s portrayed in the games

Dune Awakening's latest trailer offers a glimpse of its massive coriolis storms, which reshape swathes of the map each week for 'infinite exploration'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/dune-awakenings-latest-trailer-offers-a-glimpse-of-its-massive-coriolis-storms-which-reshape-swathes-of-the-map-each-week-for-infinite-exploration/
I felt like I knew a lot about Dune Awakening, having absorbed much of the survival MMO's broader concepts via osmosis. I'd heard about its giant sandworms being their own masters, and its air-to-air ornithopter combat. But until about half an hour ago, I didn't have a clear picture about how all those ideas came together.

The hottest farming sim since Stardew Valley just got its second major update, adding lava caves and pets you unlock by having a 'pet dream'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/the-hottest-farming-sim-since-stardew-valley-just-got-its-second-major-update-adding-lava-caves-and-pets-you-unlock-by-having-a-pet-dream/
Throwback farming sim Fields of Mistria proved pretty darn popular when it launched into Steam early access late last year, with over 16,000 reviewers showering it with 'Overwhelmingly Positive' praise. It was likewise well received in PC Gamer's own little agrarian community, with associate editor Lauren Morton selecting it as her personal pick for 2024's GOTY. "Fields of Mistria is so intimately in touch with its roots, both the classic farm sims it's emulating and the magical girl anime of the '90s," she wrote last December.
Now, developer NPC Studio has sowed its second major update across the game's virtual fields, yielding a bountiful crop of new features in the process. Chief among these are two new explorable areas, the Lava Caves biome and an expansion to the Deep Woods. The former can be found inside Fields of Mistria's mine (specifically floors 61-80), while the latter is located, er, inside the Deep Woods. But this extra area is only accessible after completing the questline 'breaking the fire seal'.

REPO's first update will add a new map and a 'duck bucket' so we can finally give that pesky quacker a time out
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/repos-first-update-will-add-a-new-map-and-a-duck-bucket-so-we-can-finally-give-that-pesky-quacker-a-time-out/
REPO is already getting its first update and it includes the feature we all need most: a way to stop that duck from sabotaging our team.
On Friday, REPO's dev team shared an early look at the viral horror game's first update since its early access release in February. While there's no release date for the update yet, we know at least a few highlights that are on the way, including a new map, facial expressions, quality of life updates, and, most importantly, the duck bucket.
>> Even Lethal Company’s creator likes the game.

MechWarrior 5: Clans is getting DLC with playable Elementals and a fight on the outside of a spaceship
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/mechwarrior-5-clans-is-getting-dlc-with-playable-elementals-and-a-fight-on-the-outside-of-a-spaceship/
Although publisher Enad Global 7 kicked the year off by announcing that MechWarrior 5: Clans had 'performed below expectations' and 38 employees of its developer Piranha Games would be laid off, it is still being supported. An expansion called Ghost Bear: Flash Storm has been revealed, and it'll be out next month.

Deconstructeam's next game is about training to shoot a single fireball at an impossible target
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/deconstructeams-next-game-is-about-training-to-shoot-a-single-fireball-at-an-impossible-target/
Deconstructeam, the indie studio who brought us The Red Strings Club, Gods Will Be Watching, and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, has teamed up with fellow Spanish indie studio Selkie Harbor for their next game: Many Nights a Whisper.

Surprising no one, here’s the Monday news, part three:

Valorant dev accepts there's too much random crap cluttering up the screen: 'The balance team generally agrees with this take'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valorant-dev-accepts-theres-too-much-random-crap-cluttering-up-the-screen-the-balance-team-generally-agrees-with-this-take/
Valorant is one of those games where, every time you look, it's somehow very different. Riot has maintained a ferocious pace of updates since launch, introducing new agents, abilities and maps alongside a cavalcade of cosmetics: if you're not embedded in the scene, keeping up can be absolutely dizzying.
And recently a specific grumble has acquired some traction among players. Even when you are embedded in the scene, and know about the newest agents and their abilities, the sheer amount of utility spam in the game now can make things hard to parse.

KOTOR remake returns for annual tradition of reminding you it's still alive, but no you can't hear anything more about it until it comes back next year to say it again
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kotor-remake-returns-for-annual-tradition-of-reminding-you-its-still-alive-but-no-you-cant-hear-anything-more-about-it-until-it-comes-back-next-year-to-say-it-again/
A long time ago (September 2021) in a galaxy far, far away (a PlayStation Showcase) the mad lads at Aspyr announced they were remaking Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare's brilliant Star Wars RPG from 2003. Which probably wasn't a great idea, because the project has spent the entire four years since then falling down the stairs and smashing into every step along the way.
(*** a brief summary of what has happened ***)
It's enough of a calamity to give Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 a run for its money, but fear not! Saber has returned for its annual reminder that the game is, despite appearances, still alive. In a chat with Game File, Saber CEO Matthew Karch confirmed that, yes, the KOTOR remake was still in development somewhere in its offices, but that the studio wants to let Disney take the lead on talking about it.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure reportedly a 'large loss' for Square Enix, says analyst, who adds: 'The company's IP fundamentally varies too much between good and bad'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/life-is-strange-double-exposure-reportedly-a-large-loss-for-square-enix-says-analyst-who-adds-the-companys-ip-fundamentally-varies-too-much-between-good-and-bad/
I confess, dear reader, I was a little confused by the concept of Life Is Strange: Double Exposure from the get-go. As PC Gamer's own Mollie Taylor said during a https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/life-is-strange-double-exposure-is-a-little-deja-vu-in-places-but-its-changes-have-me-excited-in-a-big-way/review, "remind me to never become besties with Max Caulfield, lest I end up dead in a ditch somewhere."
(...)
Mollie still quite enjoyed it in her review, even if she wasn't "sure it's a game I needed". That same decent-but-not-necessary result has, as reported by Japanese analyst Hideki Yasuda (via TheGamer), led to a "large loss".
In his analysis on the Japanese gaming industry as a whole, Yasuda states that a recent financial meeting at Square Enix saw company president Takashi Kiryu claim that the publisher's smash hit of Dragon Quest 3 was "offset by the large losses of 'Life is Strange: Double Exposure'."

Age of Empires 2 team continues to cook while delivering 'legendarily long' 8,000-word patch notes about 'the biggest updates' the 26 year-old game has ever had
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/age-of-empires-2-team-continues-to-cook-while-delivering-legendarily-long-8-000-word-patch-notes-about-the-biggest-updates-the-26-year-old-game-has-ever-had/
I know a guy whose only game is Age of Empires 2. He's been playing it for about 25 years. He doesn't have a gaming PC, doesn't have a wider interest in gaming, and when I once mentioned Age of Empires 3 he said "oh yeah I heard they made another one" and that was the end of the conversation.
(...)
The latest patch notes for AoE 2: DE are among the most gargantuan I've ever seen. The developers themselves admit they're "legendarily long", but the "cherry on top" is that they'll soon be "releasing one of the biggest updates Age 2: DE has ever had!"

Inzoi is giving eager life simmers another free taste of its gorgeous character creator, with a bonus build mode demo for the architecture nerds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/inzoi-is-giving-eager-life-simmers-another-free-taste-of-its-gorgeous-character-creator-with-a-bonus-build-mode-demo-for-the-architecture-nerds/
In less than two weeks, The Sims is finally getting some much-needed competition: Inzoi's launching into early access on March 28. For those who are already foaming at the mouth at the prospect of a more realistic life sim, though, good news. Krafton is giving folk the chance to dive into a couple of its creators before the big release… if you watch a bunch of streamers, that is.

Monster Hunter Wilds players wonder if frenzied monsters are a little undercooked, as one slaps a sickly bird into a fine paste in just 25 seconds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/monster-hunter-wilds-players-wonder-if-frenzied-monsters-are-a-little-undercooked-as-one-slaps-a-sickly-bird-into-a-fine-paste-in-just-25-seconds/
Monster Hunter Wilds players are now fully sinking their teeth into the endgame—and while the discourse over difficulty proceeds apace, one thing seems apparent: Frenzied Monsters are, uh, kind of wimps. Some mild spoilers for the post-game campaign of Monster Hunter Wilds to follow.