Gave it a go in Oblivion, along with XESS and FSR3, but XESS had a "dithering" type artifact with hair... And FSR 3 made the image seem soft with edge halo's due to sharpening... And FSR4 had pixel crawl and shimmer with tree foliage.

Definitely still can't tolerate it. But it's leagues ahead of FSR3... Can't really tolerate it with Cyberpunk on the Switch 2 either... It's extremely glaring.
I guess it's going to be awhile yet before FSR, XESS and DLSS are able to make a like-for-like image that is free of artifacts.

And that's the issue, even when I am not looking for artifacts, I still see them, wouldn't be bad if it wasn't obvious.

Yeah, I'm noticing a lot of stuff with DLSS as well, but I kinda got used to it, or I'm obviously not bothered with them as much - though, I'm not so sure it's even up to DLSS sometimes, for example in Hell is Us, which is also UE5 game, there are edge artifacts I thought were DLSS until I checked against native, and found out there are present in native as well.

GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU to feature 2560 CUDAs and 8GB memory, around 19% faster than predecessor

https://videocardz.com/newz/geforce-rtx-5050-laptop-gpu-to-feature-2560-cudas-and-8gb-memory-around-19-faster-than-predecessor

Intel’s next-gen “Nova Lake-S” Core Ultra series to feature up to 52 cores (16P+32E+4LP) with 150W TDP

https://videocardz.com/newz/intels-next-gen-nova-lake-s-core-ultra-series-to-feature-up-to-52-cores-16p32e4lp-with-150w-tdp

Unreleased GeForce RTX 3080 Ti with 20GB memory spotted on eBay

https://videocardz.com/newz/unreleased-geforce-rtx-3080-ti-with-20gb-memory-spotted-on-ebay

Fake RTX 4090 with laser-engraved GA102 GPU exposed by repair shop, a recurring scam

https://videocardz.com/newz/fake-rtx-4090-with-laser-engraved-ga102-gpu-exposed-by-repair-shop-a-recurring-scam

AMD confirms AGESA 1.2.0.3e fixes TPM security flaw

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-confirms-agesa-1-2-0-3e-fixes-tpm-security-flaw

Next-Gen HBM roadmap projects 6TB+ HBM7 memory and 15,000W AI accelerators within a decade

https://videocardz.com/newz/next-gen-hbm-roadmap-projects-6tb-hbm7-memory-and-15000w-ai-accelerators-within-a-decade

Gaming GPU Trends 2025: How Price and AI Upscaling Shape Buyer Decisions "A survey of 1,000 gamers "

https://www.guru3d.com/story/gaming-gpu-trends-2025-how-price-and-ai-upscaling-shape-buyer-decisions/

The Weekend is gone, it’s time for the Monday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Stellar Blade has sold one million copies on PC in just 3 days
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stellar-blade-has-sold-one-million-copies-on-pc-in-just-3-days/
Shift Up has announced that the PC version of Stellar Blade has sold one million copies in its first three days. As the devs noted, this means that Stellar Blade PC achieved the highest level of performance in the history of single-player games developed domestically.
Stellar Blade came out on PS5 last year. And, so far, the game has sold 3 million copies across both platforms. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if the PC version manages to catch up—or even surpass—the PS5 sales within a matter of weeks (or months).
>> curl-6 has made a thread about this milestone. Oh, and it looks like the game benefits from 8K.

Five Nights At Freddy's still going strong: The latest game briefly grappled with Dune over Steam's top seller spot
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/five-nights-at-freddys-still-going-strong-the-latest-game-briefly-grappled-with-dune-over-steams-top-seller-spot/
Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic released last week as the latest in the long-running horror series, and quickly jumped to top of Steam's top sellers chart. It's now slid down a few places, but 11 years on from the original FNAF's 2014 release, it's clear that the series is still popular.
Secret of the Mimic even briefly unseated Dune: Awakening as the top selling game on Steam, and appeared for a while near the bottom of Steam's list of the top 100 games by current players.

Both Stellar Blade and Dune: Awakening shot into Steam's top 100 with new concurrent player peaks yesterday
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/both-stellar-blade-and-dune-awakening-shot-into-steams-top-100-with-new-concurrent-player-peaks-yesterday/
The sexiest game out there broke a new concurrent player record over the weekend. That's right—Dune: Awakening broached the top 100 most-played games of all time on Steam, netting a peak concurrent player count of 189,333 players online on Sunday. That puts it at a happy 85 on SteamDB's chart of most-played games, sandwiched between Football Manager 2020 (84) and the Enhanced Edition of GTA 5 (86).
Just edging it out, though, was Shift Up's character action game Stellar Blade at position 81, between Total War: Three Kingdoms (80) and A Story About My Uncle (82), which are all pretty much the same game.

Steam has a bunch of new deals and sales/events:

• SUPER CRAZY RHYTHM CASTLE, that has a demo, is going to be 95% off until the 23rd of June: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812560/SUPER_CRAZY_RHYTHM_CASTLE/
• Poly Bridge will have a 90% discount until the 26th of June: https://store.steampowered.com/app/367450/Poly_Bridge/
• The Executive - Movie Industry Tycoon will be 35% off until the 29th of June: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2315430/The_Executive__Movie_Industry_Tycoon/
• Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions gets an 88% discount until the 29th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163550/Captain_Tsubasa_Rise_of_New_Champions/
• These are the sales/events:
  • The Pixel Power Play Showcase has a lot of upcoming games, some with demos, and basically two games on sale, 25 and 30% off respectively, that will end on the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45645522/sale/PixelPowerPlay
  • The Citizen Sleeper franchise is on sale with 25 and 70% discounts for each game (45% the bundle), until June 26: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33025617/sale/CitizenSleeper
  • And Games To Get Excited About Festival is full of upcoming games, some with demos: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/5005663/sale/GamesToGetExcitedAboutFestival

Humble Bundle has launched the Puzzle Pizzaz Bundle, featuring up to 8 games to get during the next 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/puzzle-pizzazz-bundle.

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Bramble: The Mountain King, 88% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/bramble-the-mountain-king
• BYO Fanatical Favorites Bundle (Summer 2025) has 20 games for your 2+, 3+ or 5+ bundls during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/fanatical-favorites-build-your-own-bundle
• Also, they’ve announced that the May Madness Sale will start this Thursday, June, 19th. Yes, May Madness in June

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Stutters and hitches in Unreal Engine 5 games should become rarer over time due to Epic's continuous updates, but we'll still see them for a while because of the way games are made
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/stutters-and-hitches-in-unreal-engine-5-games-should-become-rarer-over-time-due-to-epics-continuous-updates-but-well-still-see-them-for-a-while-because-of-the-way-games-are-made/
At this year's Unreal Fest in Orlando, not only did Epic showcase forthcoming features for Unreal Engine 5 via CD Projekt Red's Witcher 4 tech demo, but it also held numerous training sessions for developers on how best to use its software. Two of the most popular were those concerning shader compilation stutters and the main causes of performance hitches in UE games. However, a session led by a renowned game developer showed that optimisation problems are less about the engine being used and more about how games are made.
The event was packed with many such presentations, and although I only had the chance to sit through a small portion of them, I came away with a better understanding of why it seems that all Unreal Engine games have problems with performance optimisations, such as shader compilation or traversal stutters.
If one is to believe the countless remarks on social media, the problem is Unreal Engine itself, and there is an element of truth in such comments. Today's big-budget, big-graphics games use tens of thousands of shaders, many of which are extremely complex, and GPUs can't process them until they've been compiled.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Vestigia 2.0 is a new graphics mod for Red Dead Redemption 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/vestigia-2-0-is-a-new-graphics-mod-for-red-dead-redemption-2/
Modder ‘no12’ has released a new graphics mod for Red Dead Redemption 2 called Vestigia 2.0. This mod changes the way the game looks to make it more natural, realistic, and exciting. It improves the game’s environment to make it feel more alive and immersive. Let’s take a closer look at what it offers.
Vestigia 2.0 adds better lighting, more real-looking clouds, and clearer visibility. Weather in the game now changes more slowly and naturally. The wind has also been improved to look and feel more real. There are also small changes to how breath, snow, and the land are shown in the game.
And that’s not all. The mod also changes how rain, snow, and hail look, making them feel more real but still cool like in a movie. It also improves how light and colors work in the game, like bloom, fog, and blur effects. On top of that, it adds more temperature variations, so the world of RDR2 finally feels like it has real seasons.
>> There’s an over 2 minutes video.

The Witcher 3 has a cool fan expansion, based on the original book “The Last Wish”
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-has-a-cool-fan-expansion-based-on-the-original-book-the-last-wish/
Now here is something cool for all our The Witcher fans. A modder is currently working on a fan expansion for The Witcher 3 that will be based on the original book, The Last Wish, and shared an alpha version of it.
The Last Wish will be a fully-voiced, high quality recreation of the original book by Andrzej Sapkowski. Its alpha version features the The Lesser Evil chapter. This will give you a glimpse at what the project. aims to achieve.
As the modder noted, The Last Wish Project will be designed as an action adventure which compliments the original work. So, expect this to be really faithful to the book.
Now, since this is in alpha state, we don’t know when – and if – we’ll get a final version of it. And look, I don’t want to be pessimistic here. But this project sounds too big and ambitious for an individual.
The good news is that, unlike other ambitious mods, you can at least try it. So, go ahead and download its alpha from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find a video walkthrough. Thus, if you don’t fancy downloading it, you can at least watch it.
>> The walkthrough is over an hour long.

This massive mod for Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord not only converts it to Sengoku-era Japan, it adds fully simulated naval battles months ahead of the base game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/this-massive-mod-for-mount-and-blade-2-bannerlord-not-only-converts-it-to-sengoku-era-japan-it-adds-fully-simulated-naval-battles-months-ahead-of-the-base-game/
Shokuho is hardly the first mod to adapt TaleWorlds' Mount & Blade series to a new era of history. Mount & Blade: Warband's startling array of total conversions practically let you command armies anywhere and, indeed, anywhen in the world. Yet not only is Shokuho a total conversion for the slightly less well-served Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, but it is also one of the most comprehensive, transposing TaleWorlds' historical RPG to feudal Japan in impressive depth and detail.
Shokuho's samurai action begins in 1568, the year Oda Nobunaga marched on Kyoto and sparked two centuries of civil war and political intrigue. As in vanilla Bannerlord, the mod lets you carve a path through the period in all manner of ways, such as building up your own army, or joining the forces of a local lord to rise up the ranks.
Yet while Shokuho is built upon Bannerlord's foundations, this is no simple reskin. Shokuho boasts a completely new map that, according to the creators, is "five times as big as vanilla [Bannerlord], with 56 towns and 181 castles," all of which are based on settlements, clans, and kingdoms from the era.
Moreover, as well as bundling in the popular Diplomacy Mod, which adds systems like alliances and war exhaustion, it also features several mod-specific mechanics. These include tiered castle sieges where you must fight through multiple checkpoints, and fully simulated naval battles that let you control your own ships, destroy enemy vessels with archers and gunfire, or board them with your own troops. Amusingly, Shokuho has pipped Bannerlord to the post here. TaleWorlds is working on its own naval expansion to the base game, but it won't arrive for some time yet.
Also, considering Mount & Blade has never been a visual powerhouse, Shokuho has a remarkable sense of style. The release-date trailer published a couple of weeks back shows battles taking place across windswept grassy plains and misty forests, snow-dusted sieges of mountain fortresses, and a samurai duel beneath the golden canopy of an autumnal Japanese maple. Developer Dockside Interactive has clearly taken a leaf out of Ghost of Tsushima's artbook, and it's paid off.
>> The article has the mentioned trailer with the release date, that is over 2 minutes long.

Stellar Blade's director throws down the gauntlet at modders, whose 'firepower is still weak'—all the sexy costumes are cool, he just also wants mods that 'expand the user’s play experience'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/stellar-blades-director-throws-down-the-gauntlet-at-modders-whose-firepower-is-still-weak-all-the-sexy-costumes-are-cool-he-just-also-wants-mods-that-expand-the-users-play-experience/
Stellar Blade is out on PC, and you know what that means—Mods, Mods as far as the eye can see. Sometimes (41% of the time, to be exact) salacious mods, if history, and indeed our present day is any indication.
The game's director, Hyung-tae Kim, has no intent on stopping the oncoming tide. Per a recent interview with thisisgame (thanks, Automaton) Kim states: "I generally view it positively." With a couple of sensible exceptions when it comes to malware. He has, however, thrown down the gauntlet—issuing a challenge to modders to channel their tremendous power into fiddling with the gameplay instead of, well, you know. Their Stellar Blade(s).
"The firepower of the modders is still weak. It's a bit lacking. Up until now, I think the official content is still better … mods like new costumes or monster visuals are cool, but I think it would be really welcome if there were mods that expand the user’s play experience itself."
Kim does, in fairness, accept that Stellar Blade doesn't have an official modding toolset—meaning that proper gameplay tweaks are a little harder to create. And while this interview is being done through the veil of translation, I'd wager Kim's being tongue-in-cheek when he all but tells modders to git gud.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Just Got a Really Cool Co-Op Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/clair-obscur-expedition-33-just-got-a-really-cool-co-op-mod/
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 fans, here is something really cool for you today. Modder ‘JINX’ has released a new mod that allows you to play the game with your friends in co-op mode. This is a neat mod that will definitely increase the game’s replayability, and we highly recommend downloading it.
Going into more details, this mod enables local co-op with up to 3 players. It does not feature online co-op. This may disappoint some gamers, but there is a workaround. Players can use RemotePlayWhatever to play with their friends remotely. Oh, and it appears that there’s a setting in the game’s settings menu to increase the dodge/parry window. This will be ideal when playing online.
But how does it work? Well, during battle each player will have control of their own character, including having to parry and dodge, even during group wide attacks. Yep, this is a true co-op mode. Thus, the fights will now be better than ever. At least if you have friends to play with. During exploration, player 1 will have control by default, but you can switch to other players by the press of a button.
Do note that you will need to plug in controllers to enjoy this co-op mod. The good news is that one player can use KB&M. However, you’ll still have to plug in a controller. Otherwise, you can use Key2Joy to emulate a controller with KB&M. Both the PS5 and Xbox controllers are supported. If you use mixed controllers, however, you’ll have to enable Steam Input for them to be recognized as separate controllers.
This is an amazing mod that I highly recommend trying. Keep in mind that it’s not perfect. So, there might be some bugs and glitches. After all, this is a mod and not an official co-op mod. You can download it from this link. Be sure to also read its installation guide.
>> The article has no media.

GAMING NEWS

Bloober Team has shared another gameplay trailer for Cronos: The New Dawn
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/bloober-team-shared-another-brand-new-gameplay-trailer-for-cronos-the-new-dawn/
Last week, Bloober Team released a gameplay trailer for its upcoming game, Cronos: The New Dawn. That trailer aired during the Summer Game Fest 2025. And earlier today, the team shared another gameplay trailer that you can find below.

20 minutes of gameplay footage from WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/20-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-wuchang-fallen-feathers/
YouTube’s ‘Lucky Salamander’ has shared a video, showcasing 20 minutes of brand new gameplay footage from WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers. This gameplay footage is from the Summer Game Fest 2025 demo that attendees were able to play.

Battlefield 6 looks really cool in these latest leaked gameplay clips
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/battlefield-6-looks-really-cool-in-these-latest-leaked-gameplay-clips/
EA and DICE have launched a new beta weekend for the new Battlefield game, which we’ll be calling Battlefield 6. Or at least for now. And, as you may have guessed, some new gameplay clips have been leaked online. So, let’s take a look at them, shall we?

Gears of War: Reloaded Gets Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gears-of-war-reloaded-gets-official-pc-system-requirements/
Microsoft has shared the official PC system requirements for the upcoming remaster of the first GoW game, Gears of War: Reloaded. So, let’s see what PC system you’ll need to run it.
>> Nothing outlandish, even I could run it at recommended settings.

PC demo released for the 3D anime action RPG, EDENS ZERO
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-demo-released-for-the-3d-anime-rpg-edens-zero/
Konami has just released a PC demo for its upcoming 3D anime action RPG, EDENS ZERO. This demo will allow you to play your way through different planets as Shiki and Rebecca and experience the first part of their story.

The First Berserker: Khazan June 16 Update Released, Adds Easy & Hardcore Modes, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-first-berserker-khazan-june-16-update-released-adds-easy-hardcore-modes-full-patch-notes/
NEOPLE has released the June 16th Update for The First Berserker: Khazan and shared its full patch notes. This patch adds an Easy and a Hardcore Difficulty Mode, and it brings numerous balance tweaks and changes. So, let’s take a closer look at it.

Monday gaming news, part two:

PlayStation Studios boss admits Marathon response has been 'varied' but says Sony is taking steps to ensure it's 'not going to make the same mistakes' it did with Concord
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/playstation-studios-boss-admits-marathon-response-has-been-varied-but-says-sony-is-taking-steps-to-ensure-its-not-going-to-make-the-same-mistakes-it-did-with-concord/
It has not been smooth sailing for Bungie's Marathon reboot since it was revealed in March 2023 with a stylish but ultimately empty teaser. After two years of questions and uncertainty, PC Gamer's resident Bungie whisperer Tim Clark declared it "definitely good" after getting hands-on time with it in April. But he had significant concerns nonetheless, "from a spooked Sony, to the inherently hostile nature of the genre, and Bungie's own chequered history with Destiny's live service model, monetisation, and especially PvP balancing." And with the game now just three months away—it's currently set to launch on September 23—there's a low-key but persistent expectation that it will be delayed.
PlayStation Studios chief Hermen Hulst indicated no such movement during a recent "fireside chat," however, saying that Sony continues to see live service games as a "great opportunity," even as he acknowledged that they're faced with "unique challenges" as well.

A rumor that Nier: Automata's character designs were censored for Western audiences came from a mistranslation, creators say
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-rumor-that-nier-automatas-character-designs-were-censored-for-western-audiences-came-from-a-mistranslation-creators-say/
Nier: Automata producer Yosuke Saito and director Yoko Taro have both come out to deny a rumor about publisher Square Enix's restrictions over the game's character designs.
A mistranslated English subtitle during a stream on Tuesday sparked news stories and social media posts suggesting that Nier: Automata had to adhere to Western standards to avoid being banned in countries outside Japan. The cause for the error was a double negative in Saito's comment, which Japanese gaming site Automaton says is "tricky to translate, even for an advanced Japanese speaker."

Say goodbye to Overwatch hero Bastion and say hello to next season's Cooler Bastion who will be 10% smaller because he was such a bullet magnet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/say-goodbye-to-overwatch-hero-bastion-and-say-hello-to-next-seasons-cooler-bastion-who-will-be-10-percent-smaller-because-he-was-such-a-bullet-magnet/
In order to save Overwatch's friendly neighborhood robot Bastion from getting demolished every time he steps out of cover, hero designer Scott Kennedy made an unusual suggestion: shrink him. Smaller targets are harder to hit and that could be all it takes to keep him alive a little longer.
After some internal testing, the decision was made: Bastion will be 10% smaller in Overwatch's next season.

Sony removes regional restrictions on four of its biggest games on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/sony-removes-regional-restrictions-on-four-of-its-biggest-games-on-steam/
Sony has removed regional restrictions on at least four of its biggest games on Steam, making them available for purchase in dozens of countries where they were previously out of reach.
The changes were noticed and shared by Wario64 on Bluesky, who said that four games—God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2—had their regional restrictions removed. You can see the changes for yourself on the SteamDB pages for each game.
>> Sony finally sees the light and makes thing what should have been since launch. This will please a lot of gamers, like Chazore (who, by the way, has been awfully quiet as of late).

GTA Online's Money Fronts update is basically Breaking Bad minus the meth
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/gta-onlines-money-fronts-update-is-basically-breaking-bad-minus-the-meth/
GTA Online's next major update is called Money Fronts, and it introduces a trio of new businesses that players can use to butter up their bottom line with some extra passive income.
Landing on June 17, GTA Online's latest update is all about empowering small businesses and supporting the local economy with a little bit of money laundering. After 12 long years, we can finally buy the Hands On Car Wash and other San Andreas storefronts.

Oil rig horror game Still Wakes the Deep is going underwater in a surprise story expansion that arrives next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/oil-rig-horror-game-still-wakes-the-deep-is-going-underwater-in-a-surprise-story-expansion-that-arrives-next-week/
It's a scientifically proven fact that nothing good ever happens underwater, and that's especially true in videogames. Subnautica, SOMA, Barotrauma, Iron Lung, the list goes on: Basically, if you're in a videogame and you're underwater, you're in for a bad time. Which brings us to Siren's Rest, the newly announced DLC for The Chinese Room's oil rig horror game Still Wakes the Deep: That's right, it's going underwater.
There are spoilers of varying degrees to follow, so conduct yourselves accordingly.

Satisfactory's biggest patch since launch makes it friendlier for Steam Deck players: 'It's no exaggeration to say this update includes more than a year's worth of work'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/satisfactorys-biggest-patch-since-launch-makes-it-friendlier-for-steam-deck-players-its-no-exaggeration-to-say-this-update-includes-more-than-a-years-worth-of-work/
I've adored what I've played of Satisfactory, but I've held off on delving too deeply into Coffee Stain's extraordinary automation extravaganza. See, I know that it's going to obliterate my social life for at least a month, because that's what factory sims do. Hence, it only seems fair that I bring my partner on that glorious adventure of social self-destruction. Yet our only other PC in the house is a Steam Deck, and up until now handheld Satisfactory has been a suboptimal experience due to its mouse-heavy control scheme.
As of Satisfactory's recent 1.1 update, however, this has now changed. The update adds an array of new features to the game's sprawling tangle of conveyor belts, including an overhauled photo mode and a buildable personnel elevator. But the most exciting addition for me is proper controller support, which also applies to Valve's handheld PC.

Two Point Museum's latest update adds memorial exhibits for staff who vanish on expeditions, which you can put on display or sell for cold, hard profit
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/two-point-museums-latest-update-adds-memorial-exhibits-for-staff-who-vanish-on-expeditions-which-you-can-put-on-display-or-sell-for-cold-hard-profit/
It may not have caught the same attention as Clair Obscur or Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but Two Point Museum is quietly one of the best games released this year. Two Point Studio's latest management sim is comfortably its best yet, and a game that nudges the genre forward in small but meaningful ways. A big part of that is down to its expedition system, where you dispatch different brands of boffins on adventures to retrieve ancient, exotic artifacts for display.
This feature also happens to be at the heart of Two Point Museum's summer update, which targets the adventurers who fail to return from your relic hunting missions. Now, when one of your experts goes missing, you'll be granted a memorial exhibit that you can place inside your museum to commemorate the loss.

The Outer Worlds 2 director offers the most sympathetic answer I've yet heard for the $80 game question: 'We don't set the prices for our games,' and 'You'd have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-outer-worlds-2-director-offers-the-most-sympathetic-answer-ive-yet-heard-for-the-usd80-game-question-we-dont-set-the-prices-for-our-games-and-youd-have-to-honestly-talk-to-the-xbox-folks/
First reported by GamesRadar, The Outer Worlds 2 director Brandon Adler had the most reasonable and sympathetic developer-side explanation I've yet heard for a game's $80 price tag: Sorry, but it wasn't my call.
GamesRadar asked Adler about The Outer Worlds 2's retail price at last week's Summer Game Fest. "We're a game developer. We love to make games. We don't set the prices for our games," said Adler. "Personally, as a game developer, I wish everybody could play my game, because that's what I want out of this whole thing. But for the reasons why the $79.99 price point, you'd have to honestly talk to the Xbox folks."

Dark Souls narrator and prolific actor Pik-Sen Lim has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dark-souls/dark-souls-narrator-and-prolific-actor-pik-sen-lim-has-died/
As reported by Malay Mail, Malaysian-born British actor Pik-Sen Lim died on Monday, June 9 at the age of 80. Lim had an extensive career in British theater, film, and television. PC Gamer readers will recognize her as the narrator of Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3's opening cutscenes.

Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto says 'as the series progressed, I felt that the essence of Japanese horror was lost'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-series-producer-motoi-okamoto-says-as-the-series-progressed-i-felt-that-the-essence-of-japanese-horror-was-lost/
While the big news out of Konami's Press Start event was the welcome announcement that Bloober Team is remaking the original Silent Hill, there was also a substantial behind-the-scenes segment on the upcoming Silent Hill F, which we'll see a lot sooner than a remake Konami didn't even have footage of.
(...)
"Silent Hill was a series that fused the essence of western horror and Japanese horror," series producer Motoi Okamoto said, "but as the series progressed, I felt that the essence of Japanese horror was lost. I began to feel a desire to create a Silent Hill with 100% essence of Japanese-style horror."

Why was The Witcher 3 so dark? 'It's dishonest to always show and paint the world in a positive light'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/why-was-the-witcher-3-so-dark-its-dishonest-to-always-show-and-paint-the-world-in-a-positive-light/
As part of The Witcher 3's 10th anniversary celebration, CD Projekt Red spoke to GamesRadar about the "secret sauce" that made its quests so special. Maturity was cited as the main ingredient by Paweł Sasko, a quest designer on The Witcher 3, because the majority of its developers were entering their 30s and 40s. Also, importantly, they were Polish.

And here comes the third post of gaming news:

Less than a week from launch, FBC: Firebreak has broken out its roadmap, with two new updates coming this year adding new levels, enemies and even systems
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/less-than-a-week-from-launch-fbc-firebreak-has-broken-out-its-roadmap-with-two-new-updates-coming-this-year-adding-new-levels-enemies-and-even-systems/
Chaotic cooperative shooter FBC: Firebreak isn't out until next week, but developer Remedy has already unveiled its longer-term plans for its multiplayer Control spinoff. Players can expect two new areas of the Federal Bureau of Control to open up in autumn and winter respectively, each bringing a host of subsidiary features.

I didn't realize how much Elden Ring Nightreign upgraded its Dark Souls skins until I saw them side-by-side with the originals
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dark-souls/i-didnt-realize-how-much-elden-ring-nightreign-upgraded-its-dark-souls-skins-until-i-saw-them-side-by-side-with-the-originals/
FromSoft dataminer and YouTuber BonfireVN has uploaded a new video comparing Elden Ring Nightreign's Dark Souls throwback skins to their original models, and I was surprised at how much they've actually been touched up since their original appearances.

Klei's next game will make a side-scrolling survival crafter out of Oxygen Not Included's detailed fluid and heat physics
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/kleis-next-game-will-make-a-side-scrolling-survival-crafter-out-of-oxygen-not-includeds-detailed-fluid-and-heat-physics/
The world of Oxygen Not Included is getting a little bigger, with developer Klei announcing Away Team, a side-scrolling survival crafting platformer and exploration game starring an adorable little Duplicant who gets separated from the rest of their colony.

Hello Games fans enter the early stages of Silksong syndrome after Light No Fire is a Summer Game Fest no-show
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/hello-games-fans-enter-the-early-stages-of-silksong-syndrome-after-light-no-fire-is-a-summer-game-fest-no-show/
In late 2023, Hello Games announced Light No Fire, a grand fantasy follow-up to sci-fi hit No Man's Sky. The reveal promised a sprawling world—literally the size of our own Earth—to make your own in a survival adventure. It was a huge promise, perhaps too much for a studio with a history of overpromising.
Since then we've got nearly nothing. No more big promises, no more trailers. No fuel for some immense, terrible beast of a hype train destined to destroy itself upon release. Just some moderate fan art output.

CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 4 will be a 'more console-first development'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cd-projekt-red-says-the-witcher-4-will-be-a-more-console-first-development/
Digital Foundry interviewed CD Projekt Red and Epic about the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo for The Witcher 4 and it's an interesting look at the state of the art when it comes to how many polygons you need to make a pine tree look all nice (answer: a lot). One of the first topics that came up was the fact this tech demo was shown running on a PlayStation 5 rather than a PC.
"We always do PC and we push and then we try to scale down," said Charles Tremblay, VP of technology at CD Projekt Red. "But then we had so many problems in the past that we tried to see, OK, this time around we really want to be more console-first development, right? And then we worked with Unreal, with our partner, and then we saw the challenge—to realize the ambition that to make what we want at 60 fps on PS5 would be, you know, there would be work."

Yes, that was the original voice of Garrett in the trailer for Thief VR
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/vr/yes-that-was-the-original-voice-of-garrett-in-the-trailer-for-thief-vr/
The trailer for Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow ends with the protagonist, a young woman named Magpie, finding a strange mechanical eye. Which then implants itself in her face. Before questions can be asked (like "What happened to her squishy real eye?"), a familiarly gruff voice declares, "I thought I was dead. And who are you?"
Now I clocked that as Stephen Russell, the voice of Garrett from the original trilogy of Thief games, but then I've spent more time listening to Garrett cynically muttering about rich people than I spend listening to most of my friends. Other people raised doubts, perhaps due to the possibility of an AI imitation. But no, that really is Stephen Russell, as the man himself declared in a YouTube video.

Minecraft is rolling out its first glow up in years tomorrow
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/minecraft-is-rolling-out-its-first-glow-up-in-years-tomorrow/
Minecraft's newest update, Chase the Skies, has now received a release date thanks to a new trailer uploaded to YouTube. And, to make things even more exciting, it's coming on June 17. We knew this update would be rolling out some time this month but, given the trailer was only shared four days before its release, I definitely didn't expect it to come around so quickly.

John Marston's actor has 'Exciting news' he's forbidden to tell us, and he practically has steam coming out of his ears trying not to spill the beans
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/john-marstons-actor-has-exciting-news-hes-forbidden-to-tell-us-and-he-practically-has-steam-coming-out-of-his-ears-trying-not-to-spill-the-beans/
It's the most wonderful part of the news cycle: the time for wild and reckless speculation. Rob Wiethoff, the husky-yet-tender voice of Red Dead Redemption's John Marston, has been out and about lately. He's been playing some RDR (and getting shredded) on Twitch, roaming the hills and dales of Rockstar's faux-merica and getting very excited about, um, something. But he can't tell you what.

Elden Ring Nightreign has a new exploit which allows you and your friends to duplicate weapons and talismans until you're just as godly as the Nightlords
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreign-has-a-new-exploit-which-allows-you-and-your-friends-to-duplicate-weapons-and-talismans-until-youre-just-as-godly-as-the-nightlords/
I'm not too proud to admit that some of the Nightlords in Elden Ring Nightreign have pushed me to the brink. Working together with a couple of mates, we've managed to get everyone except for that damn goat and Snappy McJawface, the Gaping Jaw.
The goal is to defeat everyone before coming for the head of the big bad Heolstor the Nightlord. But to do that we've had to use absolutely every tool in our arsenal, including a teeny tiny exploit which lets us beef up our weapons and talismans before a fight

The writer behind Stray and (checks notes) wrestler and actor Dave Bautista are making a game where you get to play as a cat assassin 'in a gritty neo-noir world'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/the-writer-behind-stray-and-checks-notes-wrestler-and-actor-dave-bautista-are-making-a-game-where-you-get-to-play-as-a-cat-assassin-in-a-gritty-neo-noir-world/
Stray, a rather neat little puzzle-platformer about a cat in a post-apocalyptic robo-world, was fairly well received back in 2022. We gave it a solid 82 in our review, which made publisher Annapura's collapse late last year all the more concerning for studio BlueTwelve. At the very least, however, Stray's former writer is going places.
You see, after writing a science-fiction game about a cat in a gritty neon-coated world, Steve Lerner is branching out by making a science fiction about a cat in a gritty neon world. Except this time, the cat has a gun. Also, there are more cats in it.
Per the game's website, Cat Assassin is being developed by Titan1Studios in cooperation with Dogbone, the production company of none other than Dave Bautista. As in, the wrestler and actor: If you're not caught up on your storylines, you might otherwise recognise him as Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy, or Glossu Rabban from Dune. Now he's making games! Good for him.

'It didn't exist and I wanted to play it': Phasmophobia's lead dev got tired of trawling around Steam for a co-op horror puzzle game so decided to just make it himself
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/it-didnt-exist-and-i-wanted-to-play-it-phasmophobias-lead-dev-got-tired-of-trawling-around-steam-for-a-co-op-horror-puzzle-game-so-decided-to-just-make-it-himself/
When Larian Studios' CEO Swen Vincke took the stage at The Game Awards to present Game of the Year he also relayed a bit of advice to other studios: Make a game that you want to play yourself, and your game will do well. Something that Daniel Knight, CEO of Kinetic Games and lead developer, did years ago with Phasmophobia.
"I don't think there's any main inspiration [for Phasmophobia]," Knight says in an interview with Andrea Shearon at Summer Game Fest. "The whole reason why I made [Phasmophobia] was because it didn't exist and I wanted to play it.

• If every GPU performed roughly the same at each segment, I'd go for the cheaper one. Why pay more?
• Happened to me, yeah.
• 400€ in my case. I'm surprised there are so many people willing to pay more than that... but Covid/Crypto fueled scarcity proved how much people are willing to spend
• Nope, I'm in the other 1/3.

Steam has posted the list with the 50 more popular demos fro the June Next Fest:

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfestmostplayed

Given that some demos seem to still work, you may find one that you missed before.

I would rather just turn graphics down and run with native resolution... I'm only chasing 1440P and 144hz anyway and not 4k, so it's easily achievable.

Unreal Engine typically uses TSA which can come with it it's own issues.

The 5950X CPU I have, despite being 5 years old is still doing extremely well in gaming, especially in heavily threaded games, I have another several years of life left in it easily... So I will probably get another GPU upgrade before I replace the CPU/Motherboard/Ram.

I am in a financial position where I *could* buy a Geforce RTX 5090 or it's equivalent every year. (I just bought a $90,000 this week)
I just refuse to do so out of principal as I don't like to enable anti-consumer pricing and practices... And I just don't need to it.

The stats though aren't really surprising and sets a sad precedent for the state of things.

Ok, so, given that (at keast) some demos are still working, I gave Hell is Us a go with upscaling, and even enabled Steam's FPS counter to be more precise.

First I played it native with everything on low except textures and shadows, on med, until the first fight. It run at around 22fps. The horror! (nah, it's far from great but I can manage).

Then I restarted the game with FSR3 on balance and 70% upscaling, with everything on medium expect Global Ilumination still at low, and played the same bit of the game. I got around 30-32fps, with some big dips below 20 on the cinematics.

Sadly, I noticed artifacts on both the face of our character when there's a mix of sun and shadow in it, and especially the drops of rain, as they leave a trail behind them on the whole screen from top to bottom, making it very distracting.