The Friday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

The Humble Store has three new sales:

• The Triple-i Initiative Showcase Sale has games up to 90% off during 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/triple-iii-initiative/
• The Deck of Deals Sale features up to 97% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/deck-of-deals/
• And there’s a new batch of On Sale This Week deals, with games up to 98% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/on-sale-now/

Fanatical has launched the BYO Tabletop Wargame Bundle, featuring 26 items (games and DLCs) for your 4+, 7+ and 10+ bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-tabletop-wargame-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Dark Souls Remastered Seamless Co-Op Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dark-souls-remastered-seamless-co-op-mod-released/
Last month, we informed you about a Seamless Co-Op Mod for Dark Souls Remastered that was in development. And today, we are happy to report that its first version is available for download.
This is one of the best mods for the Dark Souls games. And, since some players are still playing the first DS game, it will be a must-have when it comes out.
Going into more details, the Seamless Co-Op Mod will allow you to play with friends throughout the entirety of the game with no restrictions. With this, it’s theoretically possible to play the game from the tutorial up to the final boss completely in one co-op session.
What’s crucial to note is that if a player dies, they will respawn in the same world at the last bonfire they rested at. The session will not be terminated. Moreover, defeating enemy bosses and clearing areas no longer sends co-operators home.
All fog walls/barriers that usually restrict the multiplayer zone are gone, and all NPC dialogue and talk events will be synchronized. When one player rests at a bonfire the world state will reset for all players. Plus, game progression events completed in online play will also progress the game in your own world.
The mod will most likely support up to six players. This means that you can play in co-op with five of your friends. And that’s not all. The mod will overhaul Dark Souls’ peer-to-peer connection system, using Steam’s newer networking API. Thus, you should expect a more stable and robust multiplayer experience.
You can go ahead and download the mod from this link. This is a standalone mod. In other words, it does not require any other mod to work. So, all you have to do is download and install it.
>> The article has an almost 7 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

The Alters will be released on June 13th, gets new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-alters-will-be-released-on-june-13th-gets-new-gameplay-trailer/
11 bit studios has announced that its sci-fi adventure/survival/base-building game, The Alters, will be released on June 13th. To celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a new gameplay trailer that you can find below.

First gameplay trailer for the hack ‘n’ slash action rogue-lite, Morbid Metal
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-for-the-hack-n-slash-action-rogue-lite-morbid-metal/
SCREEN JUICE has released the first gameplay trailer for Morbid Metal. And, at first, I got really excited about it. But then, I saw that it’s a rogue-lite game and my excitement completely vanished.
In Morbid Metal, players can shapeshift between 4 different character to slaughter enemies with powerful combos. Players can switch characters in real-time to unleash their power and fight their way through hordes of deadly machines and intense bosses.

Into the Fire is a new disaster extraction survival game with arcade elements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/into-the-fire-is-a-new-disaster-extraction-survival-game-with-arcade-elements/
Starward Industries has shared the first gameplay trailer for its disaster extraction survival game with arcade elements, Into the Fire. The game will hit Steam Early Access later this year, and has a unique art style.

Duskfade is a love letter to classic 3D action platformers
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/duskfade-is-a-love-letter-to-classic-3d-action-platformers/
Fireshine Games has announced a new platformer that aims to be a love letter to classic 3D action platformers, called Duskfade. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher has shared the game’s debut gameplay trailer, which you can find below.

Where Winds Meet will be released in 2025, gets new trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/where-winds-meet-will-be-released-in-2025-gets-new-trailer/
NetEase has announced that the global release for Where Winds Meet is set for 2025. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher shared a new trailer, which you can find below.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Update 8 Released, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/marvels-spider-man-2-update-8-released-full-patch-notes/
Nixxes has just released Title Update 8 for the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this eighth patch brings to the table.

La Quimera uses Unreal Engine 4, won’t support Ray Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/la-quimera-uses-unreal-engine-4-wont-support-ray-tracing/
In an interview with WCCFTech, Reburn shared some new tech details about its upcoming futuristic sci-fi shooter, La Quimera. According to the devs, the game is powered by Unreal Engine 4 and it won’t support Ray Tracing.

The second part of the Friday news:

Endless Legend 2, one of my most anticipated strategy games of 2025, is hitting early access this summer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/endless-legend-2-one-of-my-most-anticipated-strategy-games-of-2025-is-hitting-early-access-this-summer/
After spending a decade making sure everyone I encountered tried Endless Legend, my favourite 4X game, I might finally be able to shake things up. If things pan out, I'll be updating my proselytising by instead trying to get folks to play the sequel. That's because developer Amplitude has announced Endless Legend 2's early access launch window, and it's this summer.

Barotrauma developer unveils its next co-op survival game: a dieselpunk FPS where your mobile fortress is a train
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/barotrauma-developer-unveils-its-next-co-op-survival-game-a-dieselpunk-fps-where-your-mobile-fortress-is-a-train/
At the Triple-I Initiative today, Barotrauma developer Fakefish revealed its next co-op survival game. It's swapped out its infamous submarine for another metal beast: a train, and instead of a 2D survival game this time it's an FPS.

Deep Rock Galactic's roguelite spinoff digs up a new trailer for the Triple-I Initiative, closed alpha testing is 'starting soon'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/deep-rock-galactics-roguelite-spinoff-digs-up-a-new-trailer-for-the-triple-i-initiative-closed-alpha-testing-is-starting-soon/
The roguelite shooter Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core made an appearance at today's Triple-I showcase with a new gameplay trailer and word that a closed alpha test on Steam is "starting soon."

Neverway is a 'nightmarish life sim RPG' with hand drawn cuties and horrors from Celeste's artist
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/neverway-is-a-nightmarish-life-sim-rpg-with-hand-drawn-cuties-and-horrors-from-celestes-artist/
During today's Triple-i Initiative stream, developer Coldblood Inc. shared a first look at its upcoming horror life sim, Neverway. It's the debut game from a studio co-founded by Celeste pixel artist Pedro Medeiros, with a soundtrack from Hyper Light Drifter composer Disasterpeace.

Enshrouded's next update promises a 'rebirth of the shroud,' with new monsters, resources, and a whole new weapon customization system
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/enshroudeds-next-update-promises-a-rebirth-of-the-shroud-with-new-monsters-resources-and-a-whole-new-weapon-customization-system/
Today at the Triple-I Initiative, open world survival RPG Enshrouded revealed what's coming in next month's update, and it can be summed up in one foreboding phrase: "Rebirth of the Shroud."

Schedule 1 adds some 'fancy stuff' and a pawn shop where you can sell almost anything to Mick in its first content update
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/schedule-1-adds-some-fancy-stuff-and-a-pawn-shop-where-you-can-sell-almost-anything-to-mick-in-its-first-content-update/
Smash hit drug-peddling sim Schedule 1 got its first content update on Thursday. It adds a couple of new features and a ton of new decorations, but the most interesting definitely has to be the new pawn shop, which will let players sell a whole host of things to the diligent store clerk Mick.
>> One bored played decided to follow the NPCs for a week to discover what they do when we’re not around.

Soccer fans should be paying attention to Rematch, the 5v5 game coming this summer from the developer of martial arts hit Sifu
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/soccer-fans-should-be-paying-attention-to-rematch-the-5v5-game-coming-this-summer-from-the-developer-of-martial-arts-hit-sifu/
French game developer Sloclap is known for martial arts games Absolver and Sifu, both of which are very good in my estimation. I also love competitive (car) soccer game Rocket League. So I'm pretty excited for the combination of these things: Rematch, a 5v5 competitive soccer game from Sloclap.

6 years after launch, my favorite action platformer Katana Zero is still getting that long-promised free DLC that's 'nearly the size of the base game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/6-years-after-launch-my-favorite-action-platformer-katana-zero-is-still-getting-that-long-promised-free-dlc-thats-nearly-the-size-of-the-base-game/
I don't think about 2019's sidescrolling cyberpunk samurai action game Katana Zero too often, but any time I do the thought is: "Damn that really was some excellent sidescrolling cyberpunk samurai action; I should replay it." My excuse to do so is finally almost here, because the free DLC that developer Askiisoft has been working on for years is "finally nearing completion."

'Why just shoot your enemies when you can tear down the world around them?' Battle an endless cycle of evil machines in this FPS that features 'total environmental destruction'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battle-an-endless-cycle-of-evil-machines-in-this-roguelite-fps-with-infinite-weapon-customization-and-total-environmental-destruction/
And you thought GLADoS was evil? In roguelike FPS Void/Breaker, you've been imprisoned by an all-seeing evil AI and you've got to fight your way to freedom, not using portals but raw firepower.
Standing in your way? Robots. How many? By the looks of it, all of them. Lucky for you, the guns in Void/Breaker are heavily moddable, so much so that developer Stubby Games, who also created 2022's The Entropy Centre, promises "infinite weapon customization." Adding to the fun are destructible environments, which you can get a glimpse of in the Void/Breaker trailer that debuted today at the Triple-I Initiative showcase.

After 10 years of setting-hopping, The Elder Scrolls Online is coming home for a new chapter of its base game story, returning player QoL updates, and a writhing wall of 'soul-juice concrete'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/after-10-years-of-setting-hopping-the-elder-scrolls-online-is-coming-home-for-a-new-chapter-of-its-base-game-story-returning-player-qol-updates-and-a-writhing-wall-of-soul-juice-concrete/
I was invited to a preview of The Elder Scrolls Online's 10th anniversary Direct showcase earlier this week—and it looks like it's pulling out all the stops. TESO has spent the last 10 years hopping from setting to setting, taking players on a world tour of Tamriel—to Morrowind, Elsweyr, Blackwood, Telvanni—you name it, players have probably gone there.
After a decade of that structure, though, ZeniMax is keen to "shake things up"—while the MMO had been operating on a more-or-less annual chapter system, it'll be heading to a more seasonal structure going forward. The first of which, Seasons of the Worm Cult, sees a return to the game's OG storyline.
>> And it’s also getting subclasses.

Sorry but I couldn’t stop it. Here’s the third part of the news:

Ubisoft's defense against The Crew lawsuit doubles down on a point we've heard many times before: You don't actually own your games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/ubisofts-defense-against-the-crew-lawsuit-doubles-down-on-a-point-weve-heard-many-times-before-you-dont-actually-own-your-games/
Ubisoft felt bad enough about killing The Crew in 2024 that it promised to never, ever do it again—in The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest, at least. But it doesn't feel so bad that it's willing to admit it actually did anything wrong: In response to a proposed class action lawsuit over the shutdown filed last year, Ubisoft said the plaintiffs in the case knew—or should have known—that they were only buying "limited licenses" to access the game.
>> Ubi keeps digging the hole they’re in without realizing that it doesn’t matter if they win in court or not, they’ve already lost part of their customers. Maybe forever.

If Balatro had a hard time convincing rating boards it's not gambling, then this slot machine roguelite is gonna have twice as much trouble
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/if-balatro-had-a-hard-time-convincing-rating-boards-its-not-gambling-then-this-slot-machine-roguelite-is-gonna-have-twice-as-much-trouble/
You think Balatro had trouble convincing rating boards and YouTube it's not gambling? I predict CloverPit, a self-described "rogue-lite slot machine nightmare," is going to have to work twice as hard.
CloverPit combines a demonic slot machine with Balatro-like upgrades and progress, crams it into a grubby prison cell, and makes you spin the reels. Pump in coins, play the slot, buy weird upgrades, repeat. Oh, and the money you're playing with isn't really yours, it belongs to a forbidding ATM in the corner, so pay off your debt between rounds. If you don't, you die.

Lost Ember studio reveals its next game, and dang, it's got some really good snow
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/lost-ember-studio-reveals-its-next-game-and-dang-its-got-some-really-good-snow/
You never know what'll catch your eye when you're watching a trailer for a new game: Glitzy graphics, great character design, hot gunplay—or maybe something a little more subtle, as is the case in today's trailer for Ikuma: The Frozen Compass. "Dang, some really good snow in this game," PC Gamer's Tyler Wilde said, a comment that made me curious because really, how good could the snow be? But you know what? Dang, that is some good snow.
Ikuma is a coming-of-age story about a cabin boy named Sam and his sled dog Ellie, who find themselves trapped on an uncharted island in the Arctic in 1864. Venturing through unfamiliar terrain and harsh weather, Sam and Ellie will use the few tools they can find on the island to fish, forage, and try to stay warm and alive. They'll also "find fading traces of a long lost expedition and uncover a dark secret," which I sincerely hope isn't cannibalism. You know how these things go, though.

Developer of 'non-consensual sex' game withdraws it from Steam after it's banned in the UK, Canada, and Australia: 'We don't intend to fight the whole world'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/developer-of-non-consensual-sex-game-removes-it-from-steam-entirely-after-its-banned-in-the-uk-canada-and-australia-we-dont-intend-to-fight-the-whole-world/
Valve stopped Steam sales of adult game No Mercy in the UK this week following a complaint from UK technology secretary Peter Kyle, who insisted that the "deeply worrying" game be removed due to its extreme content, as reported by news outlet LBC.
No Mercy included "incest," "blackmail," and "unavoidable non-consensual sex," according to its Steam page, which also promised players the opportunity to become "every woman's worst nightmare" and "never take 'no' for an answer."
No Mercy was also removed from sale in Canada and Australia, and on Thursday the developer announced that it would pull the game from Steam entirely, although it defended the content as harmless.

FF14's composer, Soken, says doing double time on an MMO and Final Fantasy 16 was 'something beyond your imagination of hell'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/ff14s-composer-soken-says-doing-double-time-on-an-mmo-and-final-fantasy-16-was-something-beyond-your-imagination-of-hell/
Final Fantasy 14 is famous for, as much as anything, its music—and its lead composer, Masayoshi Soken, is very much part of that equation. As someone with one too many hours in the MMO myself, I can testify that this man's orchestration skills have moved me to tears more than once.
He may, however, have been burning the candle at both ends. In a recent interview with PCGamesN, Soken confesses that working on both Final Fantasy 14 and 16 at the same time was hellish—in the literal sense of the word.

And here are the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The Klabater Publisher Sale has games up to 95% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20250411_klabater_publisher_sale

+Steam

• Sniper Elite: Resistance will have a 15% discount until the 17th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2169200/Sniper_Elite_Resistance/
• DAVE THE DIVER will be 40% off until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868140/DAVE_THE_DIVER/
• Red Dead Redemption 2 gets a 75% discount until April 17: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1174180/Red_Dead_Redemption_2/
• Castle Of Alchemists, that has a demo, is going to be 20% off until the 24th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1724770/Castle_Of_Alchemists/
• SnowRunner features a 50% discount until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1465360/SnowRunner/
• And here are the new sales:
  • The Triple-i Initiative Showcase also lands on Steam, and will have games up to 85% off. The length of the deals vary from titles to title: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/triple-i-initiative
  • The Weappy Studio Publisher Sale features up to 80% discounts until April 17: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44657934/sale/developersale
  • The Comic Con India Event features lots if indie games from India up to 80% off and will last, in theory, until the 20th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ComicConxIndieGameUtsav
  • Publisher Hentai Panda celebrates its Pandanniverary putting its games on sale. They’re NSFW and I can’t see them, therefore I can’t tell you the deals it has, but they should last until the 21st: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44971152/sale/ThePandanniversary2025
  • The SpeedRunners franchise (so far one game and DLCs) Is on sale with up to 80% discounts until the 21st of April: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6858705/sale/speedrunners
  • Another Publisher Sale featuring Smilegate, that celebrates its Spring Sale with games up to 70% off until April, the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44860621/sale/SmilegateSpringSale
  • The ESDigital Games Spring Sale 2025 has games up to 80% off until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32941917/sale/ESDigitalGamesSpringSale2025
  • And KOEI TECMO also celebrates an Easter Sale with up to 85% discounts until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33016879/sale/easter25

And that's it. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

PCGamer has posted another article based on the Newzoo study from a few days ago:

Industry report says Steam users play more noncompetitive games than console players—and our interest in PvE keeps growing
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/industry-report-says-steam-users-play-more-noncompetitive-games-than-console-players-and-our-interest-in-pve-keeps-growing/
In popular conception, the gamer is an individual preoccupied with virtual conquest—in shooters, in MOBAs, or in any other format allowing for what the ancients once called "pwning," before the term was rightfully culled from common parlance. PC players, however, aren't as preoccupied with PvP. According to industry analysts, Steam users are more likely than console players to play noncompetitive games, and that interest keeps increasing.

In its 2025 report on games industry trends, market research company Newzoo had surveyed "raw telemetry data taken from over 1 million players" to compare gameplaying trends on different platforms. Examining the games that each player in its dataset had played at least two hours of, Newzoo said that 58% of the games played by Steam users in 2024 were entirely noncompetitive PvE games, compared to 42% of games played on PlayStation and 41% of games played on Xbox.

I don't know if this means that there's some trouble going on at either 505 Games or the developers INGAME STUDIOS, because this kind of deal with a game so new is strange, but, for anyone interested, Crime Boss: Rockay City is currently on sale with a whooping 90% discount.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2933080/Crime_Boss_Rockay_City/

The deal will last until April 25th, in case you want to learn more about it.

The list is doing a disservice to the ROG Ally X and Switch 2 by not listing that they have VRR displays. On the flip side that 8.6TFLOPs for Ally X is a prime example of why using TFLOPS as a measuring stick is a bad idea. That's near PS5 performance but in actuality the ROG Ally X is not quite PS4 level.

Ally X is somewhat above PS4...at least in Turbo mode. 780M is quite descent RDNA3 GPU, so, on paper, smacks not just PS4, but can go toe to toe with Series S - thing is, it is starved by low memory bandwidth, so that potential performance stays there, on paper.

First benchmarks of the 16GB version of the 5060Ti have been leaked, showing it's just 20% faster than the 4060Ti 16GB and thus 33% slower than the 5070.

In other words, it can't even keep up with a 4070.

Also apparently NVidia is restricting review samples to the 16GB version - probably to avoid getting trashed by games that run out of VRAM with only 8GB.

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/leaked-rtx-5060-ti-16gb-benchmarks-show-a-20-percent-uplift-over-the-4060-ti-16gb

Geforce 5060 with 8GB is a colossal mistake... And shows nVidia has learned nothing.
Reserve the 6GB/8GB cards for a theoretical budget 5030 or 5040.

nVidia needed to go with a 96bit memory bus and have 12GB of memory at a minimum with 336GB/s of GDDR7 bandwidth, still more than the 4060Ti but on a narrower bus to keep costs low. (And make up for the larger memory pool.)

I guess we wait to see how AMD counters with the 9070GRE and 9060 lineup, I won't be surprised if they also release 8GB parts.

nVidia has been skimping on VRAM for generations...what I'm way more surprised is AMD even entertaining the possibility of 9060XT 8GB, let alone actually releasing one - yet, here we are.