Story of my life...

It's been a busy day and, as you may have guessed by now, the news will come a bit later than usual.

Ok, now I'm ready. Let's go with the news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 sold 5 times more than the original in its first month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-sold-5-times-more-than-the-original-in-its-first-month/
We already know that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was a big hit for developer Warhorse Studios. The game vaulted over one million sales on its first day of launch, before galloping toward two million copies sold by the end of February. But how does that compare to the performance of the original game? It seems safe to say it's done better, but how much better?
A specific answer was provided by Mat Piscatella, executive director of industry analysis firm Circana. Sharing market highlights from the US for February 2025, Piscatella revealed that Warhorse's sequel has shifted five times the number of copies of the original.
"The launch month dollar sales total Kingdom Come: Deliverance II reached in February 2025 was more than 5 times higher than that the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance achieved during its February 2018 debut," Piscatella wrote on BlueSky. This makes Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 the second best-selling premium game in the US, behind only the colossal commercial beast that is Monster Hunter Wilds.

The Epic Store gives away Jurassic World Evolution 2: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/jurassic-world-evolution-2
Next week, there’ll be two mystery games.

Humble Bundle has two new bundles:

• Humble Heroines 2025 gives you the chance to get up to 7 games during 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/humble-heroines-2025
• The Herocraft PC Complete Bundle has up to 11 titles to get during the next 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/herocraft-pc-complete

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a bundle:

• The new Star Deal is The Chant, 85% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-chant
• The BYO Play on the Go - Elite Collection (Spring 2025) features 21 titles to choose from for your 2+, 3+ or 5+ game bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-play-on-the-go-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.6651 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-6651

HIGHLIGHTS
Gaming Highlights: Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc B-series, A-series Graphics GPUs, and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:

• Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Game performance improvements on Intel Arc B-series Graphics GPUs versus Intel 32.0.101.6647 software driver for:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (DX12)
  • Up to 15% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Extreme settings
  • Up to 12% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Extreme settings

FIXED ISSUES
Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:

• Black Myth: Wukong (DX12) may experience application crash while running benchmark with Full Ray Tracing turned on.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty-

GAMING NEWS

Deliver At All Costs is coming to PC on May 22nd
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/deliver-at-all-costs-is-coming-to-pc-on-may-22nd/
Konami announced that its new isometric destruction-based action delivery driver game, Deliver At All Costs, will be released on May 22nd. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher shared a new trailer that you can find below.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Patch 6 Released & Fully Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/marvels-spider-man-2-patch-6-released-fully-detailed/
Nixxes has just released Title Update 6 for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

The news, the second part:

It's not looking good for D&D's virtual tabletop Sigil, as Hasbro follows a quiet release by reportedly laying off 90% of the people working on it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/its-not-looking-good-for-d-and-ds-virtual-tabletop-sigil-as-hasbro-follows-a-quiet-release-by-reportedly-laying-off-90-percent-of-the-people-working-on-it/
Hasbro's stab at a virtual tabletop (VTT) looks to be in deep trouble as over 30 developers working on it have reportedly been laid off. Dubbed Sigil, D&D's virtual tabletop released in a bit of an unfinished state, one I was a little harsh on.
Update, March 20:
An internal memo, confirmed by Collins to Rascal Gaming, has revealed more about Hasbro's motives for the layoffs, including the fact that Sigil's "distinct monetization path will not be realized". Click here for the full story.

Palworld's Crossplay Update does far more than let you play with console buddies, adding photo mode, a drafting table and 'dimensional Pal Storage'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/palworlds-crossplay-update-does-far-more-than-let-you-play-with-console-buddies-adding-photo-mode-a-drafting-table-and-dimensional-pal-storage/
Pocketpair's survival megahit Palworld received a new update earlier today. Titled the Crossplay Update, its main addition is, unsurprisingly, the ability to farm and shoot the game's Pokémon-like "Pals" with players from all other platforms.
But that's hardly the only feature the Crossplay Update adds, with this headline addition followed by a flock of smaller items. Chief among these is not one, but two new storage-related functionalities. Palworld now has a Global Palbox, which you can store Pal data inside to "transfer Pals between worlds".

American Truck Simulator’s latest teaser is just a sound effect and no one seems to agree on what exactly it means
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/american-truck-simulators-latest-teaser-is-just-a-sound-effect-and-no-one-seems-to-agree-on-what-exactly-it-means/
In the latest teaser for American Truck Simulator, SCS Software asks you to simply hear them out. More precisely, hear out the roughly thirty seconds of out-of-context engine revving followed by a mysterious tagline: "The future sounds a little bit different, right?"

Game developers launch North America's first industry-wide union 'to build worker power irrespective of studio and current job status'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-developers-launch-north-americas-first-industry-wide-union-to-build-worker-power-irrespective-of-studio-and-current-job-status/
Videogame workers throughout North America have launched a new union as part of the Communications Workers of America called "United Videogame Workers—CWA," a "direct-join organization" that enables "artists, writers, designers, QA testers, programmers, freelancers and beyond to build worker power irrespective of studio and current job status."
>> And they’ve already made noise at the GDC.

Silksong's weary hollows tossed another scrap of hope from Xbox on high, as a blog post namedrops it next to other 'upcoming games'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/silksongs-weary-hollows-tossed-another-scrap-of-hope-from-xbox-on-high-as-a-blog-post-namedrops-it-next-to-other-upcoming-games/
At this point, I'm wondering if we should be asking our world leaders if there's anything that can be done for our poor Silksong fans. Some kind of support program, maybe the memory-eraser from Men in Black—or a time machine so they can go to the year 9998, which was an (accidentally) projected release date for a minute.
(...)
Well, another scrap of hope has been dispensed from on high—not by Team Cherry, don't be stupid—but by Xbox, again. In an act of either innocence or hubris, the poor sod writing the blog post for ID@Xbox (Xbox's indie wing) name-dropped Hollow Knight: Silksong alongside a few contemporaries that are, you know, actually games that are probably releasing.

Here's how to watch the Future Games Show 2025 Spring Showcase
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/heres-how-to-watch-the-future-games-show-2025-spring-showcase/
Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, and this is when the Future Games Show Spring Showcase is: March 20, at 1 pm PT/4 pm ET/8 pm GMT. (…) The Future Games Show Spring Showcase will be viewable just about everywhere: Twitch, YouTube, Steam, Epic Games Store, X, Facebook, TikTok, GamesRadar, PC Gamer, IGN, Gamespot, BiliBili, Ginx TV, GOG and more.
>> The article has mosts of those links. Choose the one you like.

New Ark DLC gets AI-generated trailer so awful that the original developer's washing its hands of the whole thing, and fans are in uproar: 'This is disgusting and you should be ashamed'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/new-ark-dlc-gets-ai-generated-trailer-so-awful-that-the-original-developers-washing-its-hands-of-the-whole-thing-and-fans-are-in-uproar-this-is-disgusting-and-you-should-be-ashamed/
It's been an odd week for Ark fans, with a new tease for Ark: Survival Ascended DLC The Lost Colony, launching in November, featuring a blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention of Ark 2. This came alongside the announcement of an expansion for Ark: Survival Evolved from developer Snail Games called Ark: Aquatica, which is… well, a lot of people think it looks like AI slop.

A pair of Split Fiction players will be heading to Sweden for an early look at Hazelight's next game after completing a secret challenge so tough, some developers can 'barely' beat it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-pair-of-split-fiction-players-will-be-heading-to-sweden-for-an-early-look-at-hazelights-next-game-after-completing-a-secret-challenge-so-tough-some-developers-can-barely-beat-it/
A pair of Split Fiction players will be heading to Sweden to check out the next game from developer Hazelight Studios after becoming the first to prove that they'd completed a secret in-game challenge that's so difficult, some members of the development team can "barely" beat it.

The warframe with a guitar that shoots fire is out today alongside a bunch of metalcore-inspired skins, cementing Warframe's spiral into Y2K madness
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-warframe-with-a-guitar-that-shoots-fire-is-out-today-alongside-a-bunch-of-metalcore-inspired-skins-cementing-warframes-spiral-into-y2k-madness/
If you were ever put off by Warframe’s otherworldly, sleek sci-fi aesthetic, you might want to catch up: Warframe 1999 is in full-swing and has seen the game basking in nostalgic novelties and trading in the cyborg ninja shtick for motorcycles and rock and roll on an alt-history Earth.
Today’s update, Techrot Encore, continues the intense weirdness with a brand new playable warframe: Temple. While they’re the game’s second music-themed playable character, they’re the first to shred a flaming guitar and kill enemies with the power of distorted metalcore riffs. Not only will players be able to buff their allies and engulf their enemies in the flames of rock and roll, but they’ll get massive benefits if they play abilities in sync with a metronome.

Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/balatros-localthunk-isnt-trying-to-pull-a-banksy-he-just-wanted-to-be-left-alone-to-make-his-game/
Balatro may have started as a small hobby project, but several awards and millions of copies sold later, it’s easier to think of Balatro as the smash hit that now stars Geralt of Rivia and eats away the waking hours of anyone oblivious enough to fall under its spell. But developer LocalThunk never exactly craved the attention Balatro’s success has foisted on him, nor is his commitment to anonymity part of some performative bit.
(...)
In an interview with PC Gamer, Playstack’s communications director Wout van Halderen said, "For LocalThunk himself, he’s already a person who doesn’t really like the spotlight, and now it’s a lot harder to deal with that kind of pressure. I think his choice to be anonymous from the beginning is helping him now in the long run."
>> If you have the first demo of the game, you can unlock the whole game with Notepad.

Yep, here’s a third part of the news:

The United Nations asked Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead if it'd give a talk on psychological manipulation: ‘Could we brainwash an entire community to fight for a fascist state? … Would we be okay with that? Turns out, yeah’
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-united-nations-asked-helldivers-2-studio-arrowhead-if-itd-give-a-talk-on-psychological-manipulation-could-we-brainwash-an-entire-community-to-fight-for-a-fascist-state-would-we-be-okay-with-that-turns-out-yeah/
If you’ve played Helldivers 2 for more than about 15 seconds, you’re probably well-acquainted with the game’s wry sense of humor. A la Starship Troopers, the game sees players dying in droves as disposable soldiers in the name of a theoretical democratic utopia—not that they’d ever see it, as they’re all too busy getting torn apart by giant bugs and landing supply drops on each other’s heads.
(...)
But it wasn’t just players whose heads were turned by Helldivers sardonic spin on imperial warfare; they also garnered the attention of a little organization you might have heard of before called the United Nations.
"Actually, we got a message from the UN asking if we want to talk, in some form, about psychological defense against manipulation," added Pilestedt. This might all sound like the game is getting a little too real, but he said the key was in finding the right tone and using the imagery in an almost educational way: "We do it all in fun and good spirits, and we actually try to get people to recognize the science of what is a totalitarian state. If you start wearing the same uniform as everybody else and do salutes constantly, you might be in a totalitarian regime."

Helldivers 2's Johan Pilestedt says developers need to start taking more risks: 'Safe bets are a death sentence for the studios that try to make them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/helldivers-2s-johan-pilestedt-says-developers-need-to-start-taking-more-risks-safe-bets-are-a-death-sentence-for-the-studios-that-try-to-make-them/
Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt says the game industry has a "convergence problem" because everyone is chasing the same "big next thing," a type of risk aversion he believes has the industry "caught in a vicious circle of death and rebirth."
Speaking at a Game Developers Conference panel attended by PC Gamer, Pilestedt pointed the finger at the rise of live service games, particularly battle royales, as symptomatic of a bigger problem for the industry: Developers all start trying to "compete for the same niche" when the next big trend kicks off, which leaves behind countless numbers of gamers who want to play other things, and are willing to spend money on them, but don't have the opportunity.
>> Another bit of advice: don’t skip pre-production. That made the development of Helldivers 2 take 4 more years.

Arrowhead’s CEO got a call from PlayStation when he said players could save their money and wait to buy Helldivers 2 until the servers were fixed: They ‘asked me what the f*** I’m smoking’
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/arrowheads-ceo-got-a-call-from-playstation-when-he-said-players-could-save-their-money-and-wait-to-buy-helldivers-2-until-the-servers-were-fixed-they-asked-me-what-the-f-im-smoking/
Helldivers 2 certainly had no trouble selling, torpedoing the series into one of the biggest co-op sensations around and an overnight hit for PlayStation as its fastest-selling game ever. Arrowhead had never made a game so monumental before, and any who were there for its anarchic first year remember the growing pains it felt along the way—particularly in regard to its servers, which buckled under the weight of an unexpectedly massive playerbase.
(...)
After seeing that the game was selling unimaginably fast and the problems that created for anyone trying to keep it online, Pilestedt cautioned anyone who was wary of the game’s issues that they didn’t actually have to buy it this second in a post on X, saying "If you have no cash, get it later. While we made a really fun game it's worth waiting until the servers can support the capacity."
In his GDC talk, he reiterated his point: "If you spend your last dollar to be stuck in server queues, I’d be heartbroken." Seems pretty reasonable, right? Well, he went on to say that the suits at PlayStation immediately swooped in and set the record straight.

Over 110 players and 10,000 units clash as this free RTS celebrates its growing multiplayer scene with some of the biggest multiplayer battles ever fought
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/over-110-players-and-10-000-units-clash-as-this-free-rts-celebrates-its-growing-multiplayer-scene-with-some-of-the-biggest-multiplayer-battles-ever-fought/
What’s the largest match you’ve ever played in an RTS? 4v4 battles can be pretty big. 16 or even 32 players are pushing into the realm of the absurd. But how about 110 players trading artillery fire and nuclear missiles? That’s just unreasonable, and a fitting showcase for Beyond All Reason, an increasingly popular free indie RTS inspired by mega-scale mech war classics Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. If you want to see a truly absurd number of robots exploding, you’ve come to the right place.
Normally, matches aren’t allowed to get this big in the game (mostly due to anything but a seriously high-end gaming rig buckling under the strain), but the developers behind this community passion project decided to celebrate their community Discord hitting 40,000 users by going large, and hosting a series of mega-scale battles last month, with a theoretical limit of 160 player matches with over 15,000 units shared between them.

It's turtle time: Endless Legend 2's first faction is the fortification-loving Kin of Sheredyn
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/its-turtle-time-endless-legend-2s-first-faction-is-the-fortification-loving-kin-of-sheredyn/
I am not a brave man. It's one of the reasons I have a ferocious cockapoo protecting me night and day. With that in mind, Endless Legend 2's first faction reveal is exactly my kinda thing. The Kin of Sheredyn is a faction for turtlers. "I think they are custom made for you," says game director Derek Paxton, who I spoke with recently to get the lowdown on the 4X's first empire.

'A developer who actually listens': Marvel Rivals' devs fix accidental Peni Parker nerf just 9 short hours after saying they would
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/a-developer-who-actually-listens-marvel-rivals-devs-fix-accidental-peni-parker-nerf-just-9-short-hours-after-saying-they-would/
One of the most recent bugs to appear in Marvel Rivals is a small issue involving Peni Parker and her Arachno-Mines, fortunately, the devs spotted the issue and began working on a fix straight away.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows sneakily tones down the mess players can make across Japan’s religious sites in its day one patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-shadows-sneakily-tones-down-the-mess-players-can-make-across-japans-religious-sites-in-its-day-one-patch/
Even the rowdiest of samurai knows when and where to not make a mess, it seems. Accompanying its launch today, Ubisoft have rolled out a small initial patch for the hotly debated sneaky sandbox Assassin’s Creed Shadows. While some of the changes are obvious and important fixes (such as players no longer getting stuck inside movable objects), the full patch notes—provided to IGN—and not included in any other public facing fashion thus far include some unusual tweaks to limit the amount of havoc players can wreak on Japan’s historical sites of worship.

Okay, I always knew some if not a good chunk of PCGamer's editors were a bit loud on where they politically stand, but I was not expecting them to be this obvious and blatant with their choice of wording.

I mean we already do see the brainwashing on social media and news outlets, it's why I avoid both these days, because a good chunk of it is either fear mongering or utter drivel designed to cause outrage within people and distract them from other things in life.

The Friday news, with the aftermath of yesterday’s Future Games Show

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

After Ubi came crawlin' back to Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows blasts past a million players in under 24 hours and has already smashed Valhalla's player record
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/after-ubi-came-crawlin-back-to-steam-assassins-creed-shadows-blasts-past-a-million-players-in-under-24-hours-and-has-already-smashed-valhallas-player-record/
Bad news for Nobunaga and his ambitions: Assassin's Creed Shadows has parkoured past 1,000,000 players in under 24 hours. Naturally, Ubisoft immediately bragged about it on social media.
Ubisoft specifies 'players' rather than 'sales' here, mind you, and I reckon there are two reasons for that. The first is that more than a few of those shinobi will have accessed the game via their Ubisoft+ subscriptions instead of buying the game outright, so it'd be inaccurate to call them buyers.
The second—and I'm making some assumptions here—is that I think Ubi delights in making my life, specifically, harder. It's never been consistent in how it reports its own success. Back when AC Valhalla was the new hotness, the company only boasted that it was its biggest PC launch ever, without giving hard numbers. So is Shadows doing better than Valhalla? Your guess is as good as mine, but Ubisoft at least seems pretty happy with how the game's doing so far.
I'd be surprised if it wasn't doing better than the previous game in the series, though, if only because this is the first AC in a long time to hit Steam on launch day. I might be a freak in many respects, but I reckon I'm far from the only person whose policy with Ubisoft games has always been to wait for them to come unstuck from Ubisoft Connect and arrive on Steam before I finally buy them. I like having all my stuff on the same digital shelf, what can I say?
We do have some numbers, though, even if they don't come from Ubisoft itself. Shadows is sitting pretty right now with an all-time peak concurrent player count of 41,412 per SteamDB. That puts it squarely in third place, ahead of Valhalla but behind Origins and Odyssey. I'd be astounded if it didn't at least pip ahead of Origins, though—it only needs to beat its current peak by about 100 players and it's there.

The guys at the Humble Store have a new On Sale This Week round of games, tho some deals will last up to 10 days instead of 6: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/on-sale-now/.

Fanatical has a couple things:

• Deep Silver puts its games on sale with up to 92% deals during 10 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/deep-silver
• The Mystery on the Move Bundle has up to 3 unknown games to get. No mention of when it will end: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/mystery-on-the-move-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 25.3.2 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-25-3-2

HIGHLIGHTS
New Game Support

• Assassin's Creed Shadows
• The Last of Us™ Part II Remastered

DEVELOPER UPDATES

• AMD Radeon™ Developer Tool Suite (RDTS) update with support for AMD Radeon™ RX 9000 Series graphics cards is available now. Learn more about all the latest updates to our developer tools here.
• AMD FSR 3.1 is now supported in over 110 available and upcoming games. Update your games with the AMD FidelityFX™ SDK  to have our latest technology, including AMD FSR 4 support.

FIXED ISSUES

• Incorrect gamma is exhibited while playing Counter-Strike 2 and using MSAA x8 on Radeon™ RX 9070 series graphics products.
• Intermittent application crash may be observed in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle when settings are set to “Very Ultra” quality and Path Tracing is enabled. Users experiencing this issue are recommended to use the default Ray Tracing settings as a temporary workaround.
• 3rd party tools that rely on our ADL SDK for detecting ROPs count will incorrectly report 64 ROPs.
• Lower than expected performance may be observed while playing Assetto Corsa Competizione on Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.
• Intermittent system or application crash may be observed while pressing Alt-Tab during gameplay on some AMD Radeon™ Graphics Products such as the Radeon™ RX 6000 Series.
• Intermittent system or application crash may be observed while using multiple high refresh rate (+120Hz) monitors with HDMI connections.
• Windows Update may overwrite the installed AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition with an older version of the graphics driver on Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.

Microsoft has announced and detailed DirectX Raytracing 1.2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/microsoft-has-announced-and-detailed-directx-raytracing-1-2/
Microsoft has announced the next version of DirectX Raytracing, also known as DXR, DirectX Raytracing 1.2. DXR 1.2 will come with two major features that aim to significantly improve performance. So, let’s take a closer look at them.
The two new features of DXR 1.2 are Opacity micromaps and Shader execution reordering.
Opacity micromaps aim to significantly optimize alpha-tested geometry. According to MS, they can deliver up to 2.3x performance improvement in path-traced games. By efficiently managing opacity data, OMM reduces shader invocations and greatly enhances rendering efficiency without compromising visual quality.
On the other hand, Shader Execution Reordering offers a major leap forward in rendering performance. This can make DXR be up to 2x faster in some scenarios than its previous version. SER achieves this by intelligently grouping shader execution to enhance GPU efficiency, and reducing divergence. The result is higher frame rates, something that will make raytraced titles smoother and more immersive than ever.
As MS pointed out, NVIDIA has committed driver support across its GeForce RTX GPUs. MS is also actively working with other hardware vendors, including AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm, to ensure widespread adoption.

Microsoft crawls back to Steam ahead of schedule by leaking a screenshot of an app where you can launch Steam games through Xbox
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/microsoft-crawls-back-to-steam-ahead-of-schedule-by-leaking-a-screenshot-of-an-app-where-you-can-launch-steam-games-through-xbox/
Dear reader, while I do like Game Pass—it's often a good deal when the lineup's strong—I think you'll agree when I say I've never enjoyed the experience of using the Xbox app. Microsoft can't seem to cobble together a user interface that works after perfecting the concept back in the Windows XP days, and it's been a slow slide downhill ever since.
The company is, however, trying to walk that back with an upcoming project—it sort of stumbled at the first block, though, by accidentally playing its hands a little early. On a GDC 2025 blog, Microsoft accidentally flaunted an image before taking it down, shown below (via The Verge). You'll have to squint, but there's also a "Classified as Microsoft Highly Confidential" watermark on the top and bottom left of the image. Oops.
As you might be able to see, tucked cheekily next to the "Game Pass" tab is a label that clearly reads Steam. Coincidence? I think not! The Verge also reports that "sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell me that the company is currently working on an Xbox app update that will show every game you have installed on your PC".

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Gordon Freeman joins a retro pandimensional deathmatch in crossover mod Quake Champions Classic
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/gordon-freeman-joins-a-retro-pandimensional-deathmatch-in-crossover-mod-quake-champions-classic/
Quake Champions was meant to be the game to revive the classic arena shooter. The pitch was old-school bunny-hopping and rocket-jumping arena deathmatching with just a little bit of Hero Shooter spice. Unfortunately, while it has a small but dedicated following, it never quite caught on as much as it could have.
Despite this, it sure left an impression on some very talented modders. Today, the boundary between worlds grew just a little bit thinner, as Gordon Freeman joins the deathmatch over in Quake’s chunky low-fi universe, as part of the ever-expanding mod Quake Champions Classic.
Quake Champions Classic has been around for a couple years now, part of the big Quake 1 renaissance that kicked off with Arcane Dimensions and brought us ambitious maps like The Immortal Lock. Gordon hopping through the wrong portal is a great excuse to mention here.
The work of solo developer Blue Key Games (also working on the promising Lovecraftian boomshoot They Came From Dimension X), Quake Champions Classic lets you play through any of Quake’s official campaigns (including the remaster’s new episodes and horde mode) or in deathmatches as an assortment of mismatched heroes, each with a special ability and some manner of passive perk.
Sadly they don’t get their full arsenals, but each does get a unique melee weapon. It should go without saying that Gordon gets his thoroughly peer-reviewed crowbar, and the noises it makes are every bit as obnoxious as you remember.
>> The article has a slightly over 2 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered Official PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-last-of-us-part-2-remastered-official-pc-requirements/
Sony has just revealed the official PC system requirements for The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. So, let’s see what PC setup you’ll need in order to run it.

Unreal Engine 5-powered narrative FPS adventure game, INDUSTRIA 2, gets first official gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unreal-engine-5-powered-narrative-fps-adventure-game-industria-2-gets-first-official-gameplay-trailer/
Bleakmill Games has released the first official gameplay trailer for INDUSTRIA 2. INDUSTRIA 2 will be powered by Unreal Engine 5, so go ahead and take a look at its latest trailer.

Kingmakers just got a new official gameplay overview trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/kingmakers-just-got-a-new-official-gameplay-overview-trailer/
TinyBuildGames has released the official gameplay overview trailer for Kingmakers. Kingmakers is a game that took the Internet by storm when it was revealed in March 2024. So, make sure to check out its latest trailer.
>> This is the game about fighting medieval knights with modern weapons and vehicles.

New gameplay trailer for the STALKER-inspired FPS MMORPG, PIONER
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-for-the-stalker-inspired-fps-mmorpg-pioner/
It’s been a while since we last heard about PIONER, don’t you agree? Well, earlier today, GFA Games released a new gameplay trailer for it during the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025 event.

WILL: Follow The Light is a new story-driven, first-person adventure puzzle game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/will-follow-the-light-is-a-new-story-driven-first-person-adventure-puzzle-game/
TomorrowHead Studio has just announced a new story-driven, first-person adventure puzzle game, called WILL: Follow The Light. WILL: Follow The Light is coming to PC in 2025, and below you can find its debut gameplay trailer.

KARMA: The Dark World is coming to PC on March 27th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/karma-the-dark-world-is-coming-to-pc-on-march-27th/
Wired Productions announced that its first-person cinematic psychological thriller, KARMA: The Dark World, will be released on March 27th. To celebrate this announcement, the team has also shared a new short trailer that you can find below.

New gameplay trailer for Remedy’s co-op FPS, FBC: Firebreak
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-for-remedys-co-op-fps-fbc-firebreak/
Remedy has released a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming co-op FPS, FBC: Firebreak. This trailer features 3 minutes of action, so make sure to watch it if you are interested in it.

3D Realms and Saber Interactive have announced a new Painkiller
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/3d-realms-and-saber-interactive-have-announced-a-new-painkiller/
Now here is a pleasant surprise. 3D Realms and Saber Interactive have just announced a new Painkiller game. This will be a fast-paced action FPS with support for co-op and solo, and it will come out on PC in Fall 2025.
>> The original Painkiller was a very loved game. They better not screw this up.

Cronos: The New Dawn gets an official gameplay overview trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/cronos-the-new-dawn-gets-an-official-gameplay-overview-trailer/
Cronos: The New Dawn is a game that immediately caught my attention when it was revealed. And today, Bloober Team released an official gameplay overview trailer for it.

Friday news, part two of three:

Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-cco-johan-pilestedt-says-the-industrys-got-it-backwards-by-putting-features-over-fundamentals-we-talk-way-too-little-about-the-core-philosophy/
Helldivers 2's runaway popularity last year was, in part, due to just how focused it felt—while other games might bombard you from orbit with a silo of microtransactions, features, menus, and stats, Helldivers 2 basically said, "Hey, do you like shooting bugs? You wanna scrap some robots? Here's a bunch of guns to do just that. Here's a game that's very good at it. Go hog wild."
That's not to say it doesn't have secondary systems, mind. There's still an unlock system and microtransactional Warbonds for $10 a pop (or a dozen plus hours grinding currency) but it is, overall, a videogame that knows what it's about. Johan Pilestedt, CCO of Arrowhead Games—and formerly its CEO, before stepping down so he could get his mitts more on the creative process—had some similar thoughts at GDC, during a talk about the game's success.

You can finally try out Old School RuneScape’s first new skill in nearly two decades right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/you-can-finally-try-out-old-school-runescapes-first-new-skill-in-nearly-two-decades-right-now/
Old School RuneScape has always had a tightrope to walk—honor the past it exists to keep alive without completely stagnating while modern RuneScape, or RuneScape 3, does whatever it wants—which makes today a historic occasion for the long-running MMO. While past additions have been abstemious, largely in line with the school of design and scope you’d expect from RuneScape’s humble 2007 version, the new sailing skill adds a whole dimension of play.

'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/searches-for-invisible-woman-went-up-3-000-percent-marvel-rivals-devs-innocently-reflect-on-how-popular-some-of-their-heroes-have-become/
One of Marvel Rivals' biggest selling points is all the big-name heroes on the roster. Players get to enjoy suiting up as iconic characters like Iron Man and Captain America, as well as some curveballs, like Luna Snow and Jeff the Land Shark, all while in (appropriately) a hero shooter. The first additions to the roster came in the first half of Season 1, Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman.
(...)
Despite the Fantastic Four's long history in Marvel comics alongside a handful of film appearances, albeit some better than others, the team still noticed an uptick in searches, specifically for Invisible Woman. "When we announced Fantastic Four, the Google searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000% in that period," Danny Koo, executive producer at Marvel Games, tells PC Gamer at GDC.
>> I wonder what other terms included those searches...

Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope says 'it's a tragedy' his 2013 immigration sim now feels so on-the-nose: 'You want your work to be relevant, but at the same time, wow, I really wish it was not that f***ing relevant'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/papers-please-creator-lucas-pope-says-its-a-tragedy-his-2013-immigration-sim-now-feels-so-on-the-nose-you-want-your-work-to-be-relevant-but-at-the-same-time-wow-i-really-wish-it-was-not-that-f-ing-relevant/
Papers, Please, first released in 2013, was among the vanguard of indie games that felt like they had something to say, turning the simple act of processing paperwork into a pointed commentary on the political brutality of immigration. It was set in a fictional Soviet-esque country in 1982, which creator Lucas Pope used to amplify the painful decisionmaking of who to allow across the border—defy your authoritarian leaders and your family would go hungry; enforce the letter of the law, and you were turning away refugees who were pinning their hopes on a new life on your understanding and grace.
(...)
"That's the wildest thing: When I made it, I felt like 'the relevancy of this is dropping. It was an issue, but things are going to get better from here,'" Pope said in an interview with PC Gamer at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "It blows my mind that it's only becoming more and more relevant over time. Honestly, it's a tragedy."

After suspending development in 2024, People Can Fly brings Project Victoria back to life as survival-extraction shooter Lost Rift
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/after-suspending-development-in-2024-people-can-fly-brings-project-victoria-back-to-life-as-survival-extraction-shooter-lost-rift/
Just a few months after People Can Fly announced the suspension of work on Project Victoria, it's sprung back to life as Lost Rift, a survival shooter that blends solo or co-op PvE gameplay and base-building with "intense PvPvE expeditions" across a mysterious archipelago of islands.

Bloober Team’s new horror label just unveiled an isometric survival horror game straight out of a comic book: ‘Avoid the Horned Man at all costs’
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/bloober-teams-new-horror-label-just-unveiled-an-isometric-survival-horror-game-straight-out-of-a-comic-book-avoid-the-horned-man-at-all-costs/
You might know Bloober Team for its Silent Hill 2 remake, which everyone was really scared would suck until it turned out to be pretty okay, but the studio’s penchant for polarizing horror goes back a long way. These days, it’s cooking up games under a horror-centric co-development label called Broken Mirror Games—the latest of which is a crafty, shooty, isometric survive-em-up called I Hate This Place.

'He's just gonna show up one day and say, here's 100 new jokers:' Balatro's publisher doesn't know how big the 1.1 update will be or when it's coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/hes-just-gonna-show-up-one-day-and-say-heres-100-new-jokers-balatros-publisher-doesnt-know-how-big-the-1-1-update-will-be-or-when-its-coming/
"Of the new jokers being added to Balatro, which is your favorite?"
This was my incredibly lame attempt to extract a little classified information about the upcoming Balatro 1.1 update while talking to Wout van Halderen, the communications director at Balatro's publisher, Playstack, when we talked at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week.
My dumb little gambit didn't work (of course it didn't) but that's not the only reason van Halderen wouldn't tell me about the new jokers coming to Balatro. From what I gather, the notoriously private developer LocalThunk goes off and works on the game and doesn't necessarily share all the details with Playstack every step of the way.

Wizards of the Coast gaming head says Baldur's Gate 3 'certainly raised the bar' and changed how they think about big budget D&D, but they still want 'different entry points' including smaller games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/wizards-of-the-coast-gaming-head-says-baldurs-gate-3-certainly-raised-the-bar-and-changed-how-they-think-about-big-budget-d-and-d-but-they-still-want-different-entry-points-including-smaller-games/
Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coast senior vice president of digital games Dan Ayoub said that we won't have to wait too long to see what the company has in store for D&D. In an interview with PC Gamer, I asked him just what that meant—did "soon" in fact mean sometime in 2025?
"Definitely," he told me.
While I couldn't lure Ayoub into saying the words "Baldur's Gate 4" in our interview, we did talk about the impact Baldur's Gate 3 has had on the company's future plans for videogame adaptations of D&D. It has made an impact—a big one—but Wizards is clearly looking to adapt the tabletop game in more forms than giant, systemic RPGs like Larian's.

Nightdive's remaster of System Shock 2, the peak of immersive sims, finally has a release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/nightdives-remaster-of-system-shock-2-the-peak-of-immersive-sims-finally-has-a-release-date/
Here's my confession: I think I prefer System Shock 2 to Deus Ex. Not that I don't love JC Denton like a son, mind you, it's just that SS2's creepy hallways and pitch-perfect antagonists have taken root in my heart forever.
So I gotta be honest, of all the whizzbang announcements spilling out of the Future Games Show, the one I'm most excited about is Nightdive's KEX Engine redo—the System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, which just got shown off during the show. It's coming out on June 26 this year on Steam and GOG, a brisk six years after it was originally announced.

The Finals new season is here, toting permanent team deathmatch and a giant minigun
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-finals-new-season-is-here-toting-permanent-team-deathmatch-and-a-giant-minigun/
The Finals has experimented a fair bit with its gamemode selection since it came out, ranging from a serviceable free-for-all format to the more popular Power Shift—and that continues with today’s launch of Season 6, which will permanently add team deathmatch as a mode for anyone eager to trade all these fancy rulesets for a no-nonsense bloodbath.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is heading to the ocean with a Viking-themed naval expansion this summer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/mount-and-blade-2-bannerlord-is-heading-to-the-ocean-with-a-viking-themed-naval-expansion-this-summer/
What's summer for if not heading to the nearest body of water and flinging yourself into it? But if you'd rather stay dry, you can instead send an army of hardened warriors into the sea in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord's upcoming naval expansion, War Sails.

If you were worried Onimusha 2 won’t be hard enough, I have great news: Hell mode is here to ruin your life
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/if-you-were-worried-onimusha-2-wont-be-hard-enough-i-have-great-news-hell-mode-is-here-to-ruin-your-life/
If you’re at the center of the Venn diagram comparing Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny fans and masochists who prefer their protagonists go down in one hit, rejoice: a new developer diary trailer for the game’s remaster debuted at the Future Games Show today, and it shows off the appropriately titled "hell mode."

In this airship-building survival game, I faced an enemy worth punching trees over: 'The hubris of man'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/in-this-airship-building-survival-game-i-faced-an-enemy-worth-punching-trees-over-the-hubris-of-man/
Sometime in the first or second century AD, the ancient Greek mathematician and engineer Heron of Alexandria invented the world's first steam engine. In Echoes of Elysium, an upcoming survival game from Loric Games, Heron didn't stop there: He's punched a hole into Elysium, the mythic paradise of Greco-Roman mythology, where he's harvesting the souls of heroes to power a legion of violent automatons.
During a hands-on preview demo at this year's GDC, Loric Games told me that, by reclaiming Elysium from Heron's mechanical hordes, I would be battling "the hubris of man." And as we all know, the best weapon against mankind's hubris is a sick airship.

Wield a brinerevolver as a brinehunter in Abyssus, the briniest ‘brinepunk’ shooter this side of the Mariana Trench
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/wield-a-brinerevolver-as-a-brinehunter-in-abyssus-the-briniest-brinepunk-shooter-this-side-of-the-mariana-trench/
When Abyssus first dredged itself up and into view at last year’s PC Gaming Show, I was immediately struck by its glowy firearms, which appeared moddable on the fly and unique in the world of co-op FPS. I love Deep Rock’s flamethrowers and Vermintide’s swords and sorcery just fine, but let me have my cake and eat it too with a gun I can stuff full of magic gubbins and whatnot.
It seems like that’s developer DoubleMoose’s exact intention, as a press release from the game’s publisher today noted Abyssus’ primary inspiration was "frequent sessions of playing Deep Rock Galactic, Warhammer 2: Vermintide and Gunfire Reborn." Being a co-op roguelite FPS, this is no surprise, but what makes this game stand out to me is its deep-sea aesthetic—which we got a closer look at in the game’s newest trailer, which debuted at Future Games Show today.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's director was 'starving for new turn-based RPGs,' and figured if he wanted them, there would be others out there who'd want to play his game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/clair-obscur-expedition-33s-director-was-starving-for-new-turn-based-rpgs-and-figured-if-he-wanted-them-there-would-be-others-out-there-whod-want-to-play-his-game/
I had the chance to talk to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 producer François Meurisse during the 2025 Game Developers Conference, and the Sandfall Interactive COO got down to brass tacks about how the game draws on JRPG history, the types of stories that can be told with these mechanics, and how the ambitious Expedition 33 has more in common with previous JRPGs than it might seem.

And here’s the third part of the news:

'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-middle-easts-answer-to-marvel-rivals-is-an-ai-powered-crypto-infused-hero-shooter-that-looks-like-hot-garbage/
If Farcana is "the Middle East's answer to the acclaimed Marvel Rivals," as its developer claims, I don't see Disney quivering in its boots anytime soon. Developed by 160-person Abu Dhabi-based studio Dizzaract—which apparently makes it the largest game studio in the region—Farcana is a 5v5 hero shooter packing the noxious double whammy of AI and crypto.
>> Yeah, I’d probably skip this game altogether.

Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting a new mountain next month and a whole bunch more throughout the year, including a game editor
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/lonely-mountains-snow-riders-is-getting-a-new-mountain-next-month-and-a-whole-bunch-more-throughout-the-year-including-a-game-editor/
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting lots of new content in 2025, studio Megagon Industries announced today. The wait won't be long either: a new mountain will be added on April 9 in a free update, bringing the total to four. Like the existing slopes it'll boast four trails, each with harder variations and challenges. Apparently "it's the most beautiful mountain we've done yet". I can't wait to tumble graciously down its slopes.

GOG's version of Silent Hill 4 has been updated with missing content from the original console game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/gogs-version-of-silent-hill-4-has-been-updated-with-missing-content-from-the-original-console-game/
Silent Hill 4: The Room may not be my favorite Silent Hill, but it's far from the worst and it occupies an important place in the series—it's the last one Team Silent worked on. So it's always been a shame the PC version is incomplete, missing stuff that was in the PlayStation 2 version.
Until now, that is. As part of GOG's Preservation Program, the version of Silent Hill 4 that it's selling has been updated to include all those missing bits.

Animal Use Protocol's dysfunctional chimp-rat alliance drags the Stasis series into a horrible new first-person era
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/animal-use-protocols-dysfunctional-chimp-rat-alliance-drags-the-stasis-series-into-a-horrible-new-first-person-era/
When chimp-and-rat buddy horror adventure Animal Use Protocol was first announced late last year, I felt fear. Not the good kind that tiny South African indie outfit The Brotherhood had so well cultivated with their Stasis point-and-click adventure series, but worries that shifting to a real-time, first-person perspective would ruin the perfectly unpleasant vibes the pre-rendered art of the series was so well known for.
Judging by yesterday’s new gameplay trailer (rolled out during the Future Games Show Spring showcase), I’m no longer worried. About the art, that is. I am however absolutely creeped out by the gameplay that they’ve shown.

Valve CMO threatened the company would walk away from games if it didn't own the rights to Half-Life—'It wasn't an idle threat—we weren't going to take on all of the risk to make other people rich'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/valve-cmo-threatened-the-company-would-walk-away-from-games-if-it-didnt-own-the-rights-to-half-life-it-wasnt-an-idle-threat-we-werent-going-to-take-on-all-of-the-risk-to-make-other-people-rich/
It's the 2025 Game Developer's Conference, and one of this year's most interesting talks was delivered by Monica Harrington, a founding member of Valve and the company's first chief marketing officer.
Harrington's career has been very much on the business side of software development but, way back in Valve's early days, she suddenly realised "there were a few things I didn't know" about the deal the company had signed with publisher Sierra to distribute Half-Life (thanks, GamesRadar).

X-Com creator Julian Gollop unexpectedly takes over sequel to sprawling board game adaptation, and you can try out the closed beta next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/board-games/x-com-creator-julian-gollop-unexpectedly-takes-over-sequel-to-sprawling-board-game-adaptation-and-you-can-try-out-the-closed-beta-next-week/
As much as I like getting friends sat down around a table, I breathed a deep sigh of relief when it was announced that tactical dungeon crawler Gloomhaven was coming to PC, due to the tabletop version being a terrifyingly huge (and expensive) obelisk full of smaller boxes, each containing innumerable smaller, easily lost pieces.
I feel a similar twang of relief now that its semi-standalone sequel Frosthaven is also going digital, this time coming from Phoenix Point studio Snapshot Games, and headed up by original X-Com megamind Julian Gollop.

Baldur's Gate 3's latest stress test update fixes heartbreaking bug that caused a total party-wipe on Ironman Mode at the game's final boss, forcing dejected testers to restart the entire game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldurs-gate-3s-latest-stress-test-update-fixes-heartbreaking-bug-that-caused-a-total-party-wipe-on-ironman-mode-at-the-games-final-boss-forcing-dejected-testers-to-restart-the-entire-game/
It has been exactly one year since we published news that Larian was done with Baldur's Gate 3. You'd be forgiven for forgetting, given that the studio has released one patch and seven hotfixes for the game since then.
But wait, there's more. Yesterday, Larian announced that it's got a third stress test update for everyone currently helping the studio test its upcoming patch 8, which promises to bring 12 new subclasses to the game alongside a whole host of other tweaks and changes.

Ghoul players in Fallout 76 are starting to place their camps in the most radioactive areas of the map, and regular humans aren't happy: 'I had to inject 30+ radaway into my veins'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/ghoul-players-in-fallout-76-are-starting-to-place-their-camps-in-the-most-radioactive-areas-of-the-map-and-regular-humans-arent-happy-i-had-to-inject-30-radaway-into-my-veins/
Ghouls made their way into Fallout 76 earlier this week, and since then it's mostly been positive. Regular players can now rely on ghouls to collect irradiated ore and venture into radioactive zones during events. But there's a small issue that's recently split the playerbase down the middle: access to ghoul camps can be a bit tricky for smoothskins.

This fighter is Marvel Vs Capcom for classic mecha anime sickos, launching into early access with a strategy RPG story mode on its heels
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/this-fighter-is-marvel-vs-capcom-for-classic-mecha-anime-sickos-launching-into-early-access-with-a-strategy-rpg-story-mode-on-its-heels/
There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who can recognize Getter Robo and Mazinger Z immediately from their silhouettes, and people who have no idea what any of those words mean. Iron Saga Vs, making its debut on Steam today, is a fighting game aimed squarely at the former group. And for the latter, you still might get some fun out of it if you like the idea of skyscraper-sized robots (many from classic ‘70s and ‘80s anime) beating ten shades of metal paint out of each other.
>> What about people like me, that recognize Mazinger Z but not Getter Robo?

After a controversial coding slip-up fed stalkers info on their victim's alts, FF14 wipes the slate clean to try and fix its mistakes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/after-a-controversial-coding-mistake-fed-stalkers-info-on-their-victims-alts-ff14-wipes-the-slate-clean-to-try-and-fix-its-mistakes/
Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 is coming soon—which means preliminary patch notes. While these aren't usually of much interest, with much of the meat contained in the game's live letters, one particular note leapt out at me: FF14's making changes to its blacklist.
(...)
Well, as the preliminary patch notes read, Square has taken steps to stop it—and is wiping the slate clean for its account IDs as a hard reset:
"In accordance with measures introduced in Patch 7.2 to help prevent the identification of account IDs that are not displayed in-game, relevant saved client data has been reset. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and ask for your understanding as we introduce these measures."

PC Gamer vindicated by Swen Vincke: Larian boss calls Balatro his personal GOTY as it sweeps top prize from devs at GDC awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/pc-gamer-vindicated-by-swen-vincke-larian-boss-calls-balatro-his-personal-goty-as-it-sweeps-top-prize-from-devs-at-gdc-awards/
It's Game Developers Conference (GDC) season, which means it's time for industry luminaries from across the globe to descend on San Francisco to talk about, you know, advancements in SpeedTree and what-have-you. It's also time for a shadowy camarilla of "leading game creators from all parts of the industry" to hand out the Game Developers Choice Awards—trophies for things like Best Debut, Best Visual Art, that kind of thing.
Top gong, of course, is Game Of The Year, and what do you know? This year's GOTY went to none other than Balatro. You know who else gave a GOTY award to Balatro? A little computer games outlet called PC Gamer.
You know who else called Balatro their GOTY? A little videogame CEO called Swen Vincke (previously seen with his arms overflowing with his studio's own awards for Baldur's Gate 3).

And here are the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• This one’s easy: the Spring Sale Is all you need.

+Steam

• The Square Enix Publisher Sale started a few days ago, and will have up to 90% discounts during another 3 days, until the 24th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/squareenix_publishersale25
• KarmaZoo, with a demo, will be 50% off until the 27th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1661630/KarmaZoo/
• Half-Life: Alyx will have a 70% discount until the same 27th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/
• Cities: Skylines will be free to try during the weekend and 90% off (the game, the DLCs up to 50% off) until the 31st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/255710/Cities_Skylines/
• House Builder will be half its usual price until the 1st of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244630/House_Builder/
• BEYBLADE X XONE is going to have a 25% discount until the 3rd of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3023070/BEYBLADE_X_XONE/
• Cataclismo can be yours thanks to a 35% deal until April 3: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1422440/Cataclismo/
• Hero Siege will be 66% off until the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/269210/Hero_Siege/
• And that’s not all. Since the beginning of the Spring Sale there’s been some smaller sales/events going on, and since yesterday when it ended, another 9 have gone live. I don’t want to make this longer than necessary (and also because I’m lazy) so check them out from here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/sales/

And that’s all for the news. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

Given that the source of this article is a source for a "major retailer" talking to Moore's Law is Dead, that the following with as much salt as deemed necessary:

AMD is reportedly delivering up to 4x more GPUs than Nvidia to retailers
https://www.club386.com/amd-is-reportedly-delivering-up-to-4x-more-gpus-than-nvidia-to-retailers/
Purchasing a graphics card is difficult in the current climate, regardless of whether you’re after an AMD or Nvidia offering. However, rustling for Radeon rather than GeForce may be significantly easier according to one retailer.

Speaking to YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead, a major retailer has apparently claimed that AMD is “delivering 2-4x as many RDNA 4 GPUs as all weekly Blackwell shipments combined.” Making matters worse for Nvidia, the store highlights it’s only receiving shipments for GeForce RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 with RTX 5090 effectively MIA.

This comes from one of his videos, embedded in the article.

I don't know if it's true, but if it is, it could hurt Nvidia and help AMD.

Also, kind of related:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHI2LyNX3ls