Thanks for sharing.

It’s Monday and these are the gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Rematch surpasses 1 million players in its first day of full release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/rematch-surpasses-1-million-players-in-its-first-day-of-full-release/
Sloclap's 5v5 soccer game Rematch came out strong yesterday, racking up nearly 93,000 concurrent players on Steam alone—impressive by any measure, and particularly so for a Thursday afternoon. Today the studio put an even bigger number on the scoreboard, saying Rematch pulled in a million players in its first day of full release.
"One million unique players in 24 hours," Sloclap wrote on X. "Seeing so many of you jump into Rematch on day one is incredible.
"The whole team is super grateful! And already hard at work on fixing and improving the game. We are just getting started."
That isn't straight-up sales, to be clear: Rematch is available on Game Pass, and a large number of those players could be coming from that direction. Even so, it's putting up strong numbers on Steam as well: More than 83,000 people are currently playing it there, according to SteamDB, and I would expect that number to climb even higher over the weekend.
>> Thanks to the joys of time travelling (or posting an article from Friday on a Monday if you’re that boring), I can tell you that yes, the numbers went up, but not by much.

Sega just accidentally leaked its own sales numbers, and somehow Sonic Frontiers sold more than the last two mainline Yakuzas combined, but Persona 5's putting the rest of the stable to shame
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/sega-just-accidentally-leaked-its-own-sales-numbers-and-somehow-sonic-frontiers-sold-more-than-the-last-two-mainline-yakuzas-combined-but-persona-5s-putting-the-rest-of-the-stable-to-shame/
First reported by VGC, Sega Sammy Holdings⁠—Sega's delightfully-named parent company⁠—mistakenly uploaded sales numbers for 11 major games to a public page on the company website. ResetEra user --R uploaded the full table to the forum, allowing us to still peep those numbies after Sega took the original page down.
The original table charts earnings by fiscal year from 2020 to 2025, but for simplicity, here are the total units sold for each game across the entire span:
(***check the article for the list of games and units sold***)
The biggest surprise for me is how well Sonic games are selling to this day⁠—possibly helped a great deal by the movies⁠—as well as how slowly recent Yakuza/Like a Dragon games have sold by comparison. Sonic Frontiers moved almost as many units as Yakuza 7, Infinite Wealth, and The Man Who Erased His Name combined.

Steam has three new deals and a sale:

• Pikuniku is going to be 75% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/572890/Pikuniku/
• Trailmakers will also have a 75% discount until the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/585420/Trailmakers/
• Kind of surprising, but Tobacco Shop Simulator will be 40% off until the 6th of July: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3211680/Tobacco_Shop_Simulator/
• The new Sale is the Drug Dealer Simulator 2 Anniversary Sale, celebrating one year since its release with up to 90% discounts until… Thursday, the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44022198/sale/DrugDealerSimulatorFranchiseSale

Humble has three new deals:

• Humble Bundle has the new Serenity Forge Storyteller’s Bundle with up to 12 items to get (11 games and a coupon for a vinyl) during the next 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/serenity-forge-storytellers-bundle
• Humble Store has two new sales:
  • The Neon Nights Sale features up to 94% discounts during another 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/neon-nights/
  • The Capcom Publisher Sale has games up to 85% off during 7 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/capcom-publisher-sale/

Fanatical has a new Star Deal, a bundle and, I think, 3 new sales:

• The Star Deal is Tales of Arise. It started yestedray, it’s 79% off and will last another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/tales-of-arise
• The Nemesis Bundle (Summer 2025) features 6 games and a 96% discount during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/nemesis-bundle
• Konami puts its games on sale, up to 88% off during an undisclosed amount of time: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/konami-digital-entertainment
• Team17 also puts its games on sale, with up to 92% discounts. No mention of when it will end: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/team17-digital-ltd
• And Rebellion puts its games on sale with up to 93% deal. Liek the other two, there’s no mentin of how long will the deals last: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/rebellion

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-For rent-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

After 10 years of development, the emulator that lets you play NES games in full 3D has been fully released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-10-years-of-development-the-emulator-that-lets-you-play-nes-games-in-full-3d-has-been-fully-released/
3dSen, the amazing emulator that lets you play all the NES games in full 3D, has left Early Access and has been fully released. Created by a single dev over 10 years, this is a must for all NES fans. This will let you re-experience your favourite NES games in a new way. So, don’t sleep on it.
3dSen started with a simple idea. What if you could play classic NES games, not just emulated, but reimagined, rebuilt, and experienced in full 3D? Not just parallax or just layers. But true 3D environments. And now, after ten years of hard work, this emulator has reached Version 1.0.
Right now, 3dSen has 100 NES game profiles. It does not support the entire NES library. Still, you can find profiles for almost all of the NES classics. In other words, Punch Out, Zelda, Ninja Gaiden, Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Contra, Metroid, and more are supported.
3dSen comes with real-time lighting and shadows. The emulator adds depth and drama to every scene with dynamic visuals. Not only that, but it packs animated skyboxes, making every level feel alive with immersive skies and backgrounds. It also has custom camera controls. Players can zoom, rotate, and frame the action just the way they like.
And that’s not all. Its creator has implemented a couple of cool QoL improvements. For instance, you can quick save and load anytime and anywhere. There are also rollback and fast-forward mechanics. Plus, there is support for VR.
I cannot stress enough how amazing this emulator is. And, to be honest, I’d love to see a similar emulator for the 16-bit consoles. Just imagine a similar emulator for SNES or Genesis. Now that would be mind-blowing.
3dSen comes with a 40% discount until June 26th. So, if you are a die-hard NES fan, I suggest checking it out. Below, you can also find its latest trailer. Be sure to watch it as it highlights all of its features.
>> Yes, the emulator costs money and you can find it… on Steam?! The article has a link to the Steam page.

An unofficial PC port of Mario Kart 64 is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/an-unofficial-pc-port-of-mario-kart-64-is-now-available-for-download/
Earlier today, we shared that the NES emulator, 3dSen, has been fully released. And now, there’s even more good news for our Nintendo fans. A fan-made PC version of the classic Mario Kart 64 has just come out, and you can download it right now.
Titled SpaghettiKart, this PC port is the result of reverse engineering the entire Mario Kart 64 game. What’s crucial here is that SpaghettiKart has clean code. This means that it does not borrow any code line from the original N64 game. As such, the devs can release it to the public (and Nintendo cannot do anything at all to stop it).
Do note that this unofficial PC port of Mario 64 does not feature any game assets. This means that you’ll have to generate the O2R from the ROM yourselves. Right now, SpaghettiKart supports only the US ROM of Mario Kart 64.
In short, this project is similar to the unofficial PC ports of Super Mario 64, Crash Team Racing, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Perfect Dark, Jak & Daxter and Sonic Unleashed.
Right now, it’s not clear if SpaghettiKart works with Mario Kart 64 HD. Mario Kart 64 HD is a mod that adds high-quality textures and updates the characters so they look like the early 3D versions. It makes the game feel like a remaster and is one of the best ways to play Mario Kart 64 on PC. Until SpaghettiKart gets more mods or features, it’s better to stick with Mario Kart 64 HD.
>> The article has a 3 minutes video.

No, the Xenia team is NOT working with Microsoft on an official Xbox emulator for PC, Game Pass and xCloud
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/no-the-xenia-team-is-not-working-with-microsoft-on-an-official-xbox-emulator-for-pc-game-pass-and-xcloud/
A few days ago, a rumor surfaced, suggesting that the XBOX and XENIA CANARY emulator team were working with Microsoft to make an official Xbox and Xbox 360 emulator. But the Xenia team has now debunked this. No. They are not working with Microsoft on any project.
The Xenia team said they are not working with Microsoft at all. Microsoft already uses its own emulators to make older games work on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles. So even if Microsoft wanted to bring those games to PC, they wouldn’t need help from Xenia. Or at least what the Xenia team claims.
And that is that. This is coming straight from the horse’s mouth. The official response is that the Xenia team is not working with MS for any Xbox emulator.

Project Brutality V0.3.1 for Classic Doom Is Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/project-brutality-v0-3-1-for-classic-doom-is-available-for-download/
Doom fans, here is something for you today. The Project Brutality Dev Team has released a new version of its mod, Project Brutality, that you can download right now.
Project Brutality is a fast and intense mod that makes classic Doom even more exciting. It first started as a small add-on for Brutal Doom but has now become a full mod on its own. It includes custom artwork, cool animations, and new code made just for it.
Project Brutality is now ten years old and in order to celebrate its birthday, its modding team released a new version of it. Version 0.3.1 brings back some old features, and overhauls the gore effects.
The new gore system looks better and works more smoothly. Behind the scenes, most of the old parts were replaced with new ones, the graphics were improved, and bugs were fixed. The blood system is now very well-optimized, so it should run fine on most modern computers.
>> The article has an over 30 minutes video, but the link to the latest version of the project is missing.

Oblivion is a very funny game but the Skyblivion remake may not be, and you can blame the quality of Skyrim's 'streamlined' engine for that
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/oblivion-is-a-very-funny-game-but-the-skyblivion-remake-may-not-be-and-you-can-blame-the-quality-of-skyrims-streamlined-engine-for-that/
It might not be immediately apparent, what with its pompous music and brutal murder of Patrick Stewart, but The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is a very funny game. For some players, like PC Gamer's Joshua Wolens, it's a big part of the attraction, and the recent official remaster kept a lot of Oblivion's jank intact.
However, much of that comedic potential may be lost in Skyblivion, the upcoming fan-made remake of Oblivion in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, not because the developers are intentionally doing away with it, but simply due to the relentless march of progress.
"The problem there is that this remake of Oblivion takes place in a completely different engine," Skyblivion lead developer Rebelzize told Joshua in a recent interview. "Most of these bugs or funny features are very engine-specific. So for instance, lot of those funny clips from Oblivion stem from the game freezing when you're in a dialog with someone.
"With the assassination of Uriel Septim in the tutorial dungeon, Uriel will sometimes talk to you while the assassin has already appeared behind him, and he's like, 'Oh, I hope nothing bad will happen to me!' Like the guy is just staring [at him], breathing down his neck. It is hilarious."
A lot of those amusing moments are entirely unintentional, the result of bugs or jankiness in the Gamebryo engine that are unfortunately no longer present in Skyrim's Creation engine. That means the Skyblivion team would have to intentionally recreate those moments, and Rebelzize said doing so just isn't feasible.

'I don't particularly think the game will be very good': The fans trying to get a never-released Chinese Borderlands MMO working are doing something so absurd that I love them for it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/i-dont-particularly-think-the-game-will-be-very-good-the-fans-trying-to-get-a-never-released-chinese-borderlands-mmo-working-are-doing-something-so-absurd-i-love-them-for-it/
Back in 2014, an established Chinese game development studio called Shanda Interactive Entertainment started work on Borderlands Online, a Chinese-market-only MMO version of the two-games-deep Borderlands series. Gearbox was trying to get a jump on the growing Chinese PC gaming market, clearly, but the game didn't happen: It was cancelled in 2015 when Shanda left game development entirely. All that remains now are some screenshots and (rather weird) trailers.
Now, on a passionate whim, some fans have dug up an ancient build of the game from virus-infested defunct Chinese websites and are hard at work on making a playable version of the long lost Borderlands game. (Which they wouldn't have been able to play if it had been finished, because it wouldn't have been released outside of China.)
In an interview with Eurogamer, project leader EpicNNG explained why they went on their quixotic quest to bring back a 10 year old unreleased game that—by their own admission—probably isn't even very good.

Elden Ring Nightreign modders are already going ham with custom skins, including Optimus Prime, Stellar Blade's Eve, and my #1 most-wanted outfit from Dark Souls
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreign-modders-are-already-going-ham-with-custom-skins-including-optimus-prime-stellar-blades-eve-and-my-1-most-wanted-outfit-from-dark-souls/
User Orange on YouTube caught my eye with a 12-minute showcase of some of the most impressive modded skins players have cranked out for Elden Ring Nightreign, which include characters from other franchises, as well as yet more Dark Souls throwbacks.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, they're effectively inaccessible. All the skin replacement mods I've seen are dependent on a tool called the UXM Selective Unpacker, and UXM's page has been set to hidden with the following message: "The mod has (possible) permission issues that the author is working to address."
But we can still admire the work modder KRDCD has put out, even if we can't use them. The real attention grabber is Nightreign Custom Model Replacers. This is the meme one: Eve from Stellar Blade, Optimus Prime, Yorha Unit 2B, all the stars are here. The only notable omission is CJ from San Andreas, but surely he is an inevitability.
Dark Souls Armor Sets is more my speed, importing even more Dark Souls models into Nightreign, similar to the skins we already got in the game. It even includes my personal most-wanted candidate for a future DLC skin: Sir Alonne from Dark Souls 2 as Executor.
This masked samurai is basically proto-Executor anyway, and I was honestly shocked he didn't make it into the base game already. I particularly appreciate how KRDCD's skin version uses Alonne's comically long-hilted nagamaki (bring this design back, FromSoft!), the Bewitched Alonne Sword, in place of Executor's usual cursed blade.
Once UXM is back up and these mods can be installed again, you'll want to use them with Yui's Seamless Co-op in order to avoid the Easy Anticheat Eye of Sauron⁠—Yui's mod has users connect to unofficial servers, opening up the door for consequence-free modding.
>> There is an over 10 minutes video in the article showing some of the mod skins for the game.

GAMING NEWS

First Patch for FBC: Firebreak Released & Fully Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/first-patch-for-fbc-firebreak-released-fully-detailed/
Remedy has just released the first post-launch update for its latest game, FBC: Firebreak, and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this update brings to the table.

Here are 20 minutes of pre-beta gameplay from the new action adventure RPG by former The Witcher devs
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-20-minutes-of-pre-alpha-gameplay-from-the-new-action-adventure-rpg-by-former-the-witcher-devs/
Rebel Wolves has released a video showing 20 minutes of early gameplay from their new action-adventure RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker. The team is made up of former developers of The Witcher, and you can really see that in the gameplay. So, let’s check it out.

Monday gaming news, part two:

Balatro creator gets 'a taste of my own medicine' as he struggles in vain to score the game's hardest achievement
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/balatro-creator-gets-a-taste-of-my-own-medicine-as-he-struggles-in-vain-to-score-the-games-hardest-achievement/
Balatro was PC Gamer's 2024 Game of the Year for many good reasons, but one of them was that no-one on the team could stop playing this thing. We weren't alone either: developers went gaga for the poker roguelike. And now it turns out that even Balatro creator LocalThunk just can't stop banging his head against the wall he created.
>> Worry not, for he has managed to achieve it (pun intended).

Monster Hunter Wilds has been hit by over 2,000 negative Steam reviews in the last week as players lose hope that Capcom will fix its egregious performance issues
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/monster-hunter-wilds-has-been-hit-by-over-2-000-negative-steam-reviews-in-the-last-week-as-players-lose-hope-that-capcom-will-fix-its-egregious-performance-issues/
Monster Hunter Wilds has become the latest Steam review battleground as an influx of disgruntled players have tanked its review rating down to "overwhelmingly negative" in the last week. Since Monday, over 2,000 negative reviews have been filed, most of which criticize its poor PC performance and a lack of substantial fixes from Capcom in the months since it was released.
>> Next time don’t buy the game, more so after the game had a beta that already showed those problems.

No More Room in Hell 2's latest update transforms its zombie horror from a cooperative game to a solo extraction shooter when enough players die
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/no-more-room-in-hell-2s-latest-update-transforms-its-zombie-horror-from-a-cooperative-game-to-a-solo-extraction-shooter-when-enough-players-die/
Although No More Room in Hell 2 launched into early access a little too early for its own good, I still think it was a better zombie game than it gets credit for. Not only did it capture the essence of zombie horror with its eerie, pitch-black nights and undead hordes that seemed fairly unthreatening right up until they steamrollered you in their dozens. But it also had a clever concept where players started the game alone, having to find each other within the map before converging on the objective.
That organic team-building was a big part of what made No More Room in Hell 2 interesting to me, even if its single map became repetitive after a while. Now, developer Torn Banner has added a new feature to the game that adds a further twist to team assembly.

That 16-bit Terminator 2 throwback doesn't feature Arnie's likeness, but it did license the guy who played adult John Connor for 30 seconds in the film's intro
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/that-16-bit-terminator-2-throwback-doesnt-feature-arnies-likeness-but-it-did-license-the-guy-who-played-adult-john-connor-for-30-seconds-in-the-films-intro/
I was seriously impressed by Terminator 2D: No Fate when it was revealed earlier this year. I love the idea of a tie-in that's authentic not only to the events of the film, but also the era of gaming in which the film was released. Developer Bitmap Bureau seems to have largely nailed the authenticity on both counts, too, showing some excellent 16-bit adaptations of the film's characters, and playable recreations of key scenes that are mechanically suited to the depicted events.
There is one big thing missing from No Fate, however, and that's Arnold Schwarzenegger. Though we see the T800 punching bikers and blasting cops with tear gas during game sequences in the trailer, publisher Reef Entertainment recently revealed that it wasn't able to nab the rights to Arnie's likeness in-game. Hence, depictions of the T800 are limited to the character.

Grounded 2 will have less frequent, much larger early access updates
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/grounded-2-will-have-less-frequent-much-larger-early-access-updates/
Obsidian will be shaking up its early access strategy for the release of Grounded 2 next month. Rather than the monthly micro-updates that were the norm when Grounded launched, the developer has decided that something more like every four to five months will be the norm.

Tempest Rising's first major update targets the Command and Conquer successor's multiplayer, adding 6 maps, a 2v2 ranked mode, and an extensive balance overhaul
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/tempest-risings-first-major-update-targets-the-command-and-conquer-successors-multiplayer-adding-6-maps-a-2v2-ranked-mode-and-an-extensive-balance-overhaul/
Throwback RTS Tempest Rising is one of my favourite games from this year, a spectacular and thrilling tribute to Westwood's tragically absent Command and Conquer series. I thought its twin campaigns were pretty much perfect when I reviewed it a couple of months back, which is possibly why its first major update focuses mainly on multiplayer.

Total War: Warhammer 3's latest patch radically reattunes its magic item system: 'In total some 600 ancillaries have had their effects and rarity adjusted'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/total-war-warhammer-3s-latest-patch-radically-reattunes-its-magic-item-system-in-total-some-600-ancillaries-have-had-their-effects-and-rarity-adjusted/
Creative Assembly's long-running readjustment of Total War: Warhammer 3 presses on with the slow but inexorable determination of an army of dwarves. Back in March, the developer completely overhauled the game's maligned Kislev faction to make its polar-bear riding humans more fun to play. Now, it has issued a new patch targeting another specific area of the game with deep restructuring—its magic item system.

Survival game Once Human now has custom servers, complete with all manner of tweakable parameters
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/survival-game-once-human-now-has-custom-servers-complete-with-all-manner-of-tweakable-parameters/
Free-to-play survival adventure shooter Once Human now has custom, dedicated servers available.
The independent server infrastructure is officially supported by developer NetEase games, which said in a press release that it hopes players will use private servers to "push the boundaries of the Once Human experience, such as transforming it into a cozy building experience or a brutal survival game where only the most skilled survive."

Here's the entire soundtrack for Europa Universalis 5 even though the grand strategy game doesn't have a release date yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/heres-the-entire-soundtrack-for-europa-universalis-5-even-though-the-grand-strategy-game-doesnt-have-a-release-date-yet/
You can now listen to the entire soundtrack for grand strategy game Europa Universalis 5, as it's been posted to YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. Composed by Håkan Glänte, the music spans a lot of history and a lot of Europe in an impressive 26 tracks lasting nearly two hours.

Hypnospace Outlaw sequel Dreamsettler has been cancelled: 'We just way overscoped'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/hypnospace-outlaw-sequel-dreamsettler-has-been-cancelled-we-just-way-overscoped/
In our Hypnospace Outlaw review, Andy Kelly called it "a cyber-detective adventure set within a fictional computer operating system", with an alternate 1999 setting let you explore a nostalgic pocket internet full of music, animations, and screensavers. "This garish low-res internet, inspired by the digital shanty towns of GeoCities, is fully realised. There are hundreds of pages to click around, split into zones that reflect the personalities of their eccentric creators. In Teentopia you'll find edgy teenagers, nu metal, and drama. In Open Eyed, new age spiritualists and conspiracy theorists. It's a brilliantly observed snapshot of the primordial web."
A sequel called Dreamsettler was announced in 2022, alongside an FPS spinoff with the gloriously mangled name Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer. While Slayers X came out in 2023, Dreamsettler remained in development, with a "Coming Soon" Steam page and No More Robots attached as its publisher.
In the video announcing Dreamsettler's cancellation, lead developer Jay Tholen is at pains to make it clear that No More Robots wasn't behind the decision. "They didn't pull support or anything and they did what they could to keep it going, but it's just time to stop it," he says. Going further into the decision he explains that a central feature of Dreamsettler's alternate 2000s internet would have been "Oomph", a "fake Flash" that would let players make their own looping animations synced to music, reminiscent of Hynospace Outlaw's tune sequencer. When Oomph had to be cut to get Dreamsettler under its budget, it seems like a lot of Tholen's motivation went with it.

'This happened because of the best elements of our community': Borderlands 4 won't have a minimap, but thanks to player demand it will have an optional combat radar
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/this-happened-because-of-the-best-elements-of-our-community-borderlands-4-wont-have-a-minimap-but-thanks-to-player-demand-it-will-have-an-optional-combat-radar/
I think we can all agree that an always-on minimap is bad. Like the TV in a bar, you find your eyes drawn to it even when there are other things you should be looking at. You stare at a corner of your monitor while ignoring the fancy grandeur of whatever expensive open world is taking up the other seven-eighths of your screen.
But the absence of navigational aids can be just as bad. I got lost more than once in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in areas where there was no map at all, and just had to loop around the place trying to find the one bit I was supposed to go to next. And in an FPS, you may not need to worry as much about getting lost, but you will need to worry about losing enemies when they duck behind cover.
When early footage of Borderlands 4 showed it lacking a minimap, some players were distraught. If you can hear psychos ranting but can't tell exactly where they are, how will you figure out they're actually on the other side of that hut in particular? Well, as Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford explained on the hatesite formerly known as Twitter, Borderlands 4 actually will have a combat radar in time for its September launch.
>> He could have said that from the beginning, but I guess that bad publicity is still publicity for Pitchford.

Shotgun Cop Man just got a free DLC that proves every game is better with bullet time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/shotgun-cop-man-just-got-a-free-dlc-that-proves-every-game-is-better-with-bullet-time/
My Friend Pedro was a Flash game that evolved into a standalone release in which you played a man who used his skateboard gun-fu skills to kill bad dudes at the command of a talking banana (named Pedro). It was a lot of fun. I gave it an 81. You could throw a frypan into the air and then ricochet bullets off it in slow-motion.
Its developer, DeadToast Entertainment, followed it this year with Shotgun Cop Man. A more lo-fi take on the action-platformer genre, Shotgun Cop Man saw you descend into Hell to fight demons with a shotgun that launched you into the air when you shot the ground. Want to double-jump? Shoot twice. It was almost as much fun, though it didn't have a skateboard or bullet time.
Until now. DeadToast has generously bolted three new worlds with 17 levels in each of them onto Shotgun Cop Man. These 51 levels are themed around My Friend Pedro and add skateboards and bullet time, as well as breakable glass, frying pans, ziplines, swing ropes, and a friendly banana. There are also three new boss fights, one of which is with a helicopter.

And here’s the third part of the Monday gaming news:

Almost a year after launch, Frost Giant's StarCraft wannabe has finally added the feature it's named after: 'We called the game Stormgate, yet we didn't actually have any stormgates'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/almost-a-year-after-launch-frost-giants-starcraft-wannabe-has-finally-added-the-feature-its-named-after-we-called-the-game-stormgate-yet-we-didnt-actually-have-any-stormgates/
Cards on the table, I did not like Stormgate when it launched. I did not like its vibes. I did not like its aesthetic. I did not like its story. I did not like how it felt beneath the fingers. I did not like the paltry number of (bad) singleplayer missions it offered before asking you to pony up cash. It felt like a Blizzard game with none of the polish, satisfaction or clarity of vision that makes the best Blizzard games what they are.
What I do like though, is any developer that makes a concerted effort to improve its game, and Frost Giant certainly appears to be doing that. Back in April, the studio overhauled Stormgate's wayward campaign, rewriting its entire narrative and mission structure. Now, Frost Giant has just added one of the community's most-requested features, the very thing the game was named after—Stormgates.
"We called the game Stormgate, yet we didn't actually have any Stormgates," Frost Giant sheepishly admits in a recent Steam blog. "But that changes now, because we're about to deploy a feature so obvious, so long-requested, so in-your-face fun that we had to name the whole game after it."

Pathologic 3's time travel system will let players 'explore the unknown boldly and without fearing permanent ruin' and that makes me way more inclined to play it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/pathologic-3s-time-travel-system-will-let-players-explore-the-unknown-boldly-and-without-fearing-permanent-ruin-and-that-makes-me-way-more-inclined-to-play-it/
Sorry Pathologic 2 fans, but I am one of those people, the ones who say how much they like the look of Ice-Pick Lodge's pestilent immersive sim, but wish it was more willing to meet them halfway on the challenge front. It's not simply that Pathologic 2 is hard. I don't mind a game kicking my ass so long as it does it quickly. But the idea of playing a game for 40 hours only to spend that whole time slowly losing is just a bit too real for my liking.
But it seems Ice-Pick Lodge's upcoming entry, Pathologic 3, might be made with philistines like me in mind, as it basically flips the entire concept of the second game on its head. Instead of being about trying to find a cure for a plague and failing slowly. It begins from the point of failure, then lets you backtrack through time to try and fix it.

Grim Dawn's next expansion will be honkin' huge, with 54 new bosses and more than 380 new unique items, it takes up 'approximately 3.55sq. km'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/grim-dawns-next-expansion-will-be-honkin-huge-with-54-new-bosses-and-more-than-380-new-unique-items-it-takes-up-approximately-3-55sq-km/
During the Great Britpop Wars of the 1990s someone might have asked you whether you preferred Oasis or Blur. The correct answer was "Pulp, actually." Likewise, if someone asks whether you like Path of Exile 2 or Diablo 4, the correct answer is Grim Dawn, dammit.
Crate Entertainment's mud-and-blood action RPG was thought dead when its third expansion, Fangs of Asterkarn, was announced out of the blue in 2023. As Crate's latest developer blog explains, the expansion was announced earlier in development than the previous two as a way of reminding people there was still life in the old girl yet. That's one reason why it's not out yet. The other is that it's bloody ginormous.
>> Blur, in my case, they had a bigger sense of humor (easier to do, compared to Oasis).

Lies of P: Overture devs actually rewarded for making a solid DLC in rare industry W: Getting a bonus, 2 weeks vacation, and a free Switch 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/lies-of-p-overture-devs-actually-rewarded-for-making-a-solid-dlc-in-rare-industry-w-getting-a-bonus-2-weeks-vacation-and-a-free-switch-2/
It's no lie that the gaming industry in recent years has been crushing. You can do a good job, a bad job, a medium job—it doesn't matter, the sword of Damocles can plunge at any moment. I won't go into my list of examples, partially because I've shared them before, but also because I've got some actual honest-to-god good news. The Lies of P devs not only released a successful expansion, but were then rewarded for it. Imagine!
Per Korean site Thelec (via VGC), Lies of P's recent DLC, Overture, has sold like hotcakes. Three million hotcakes, to be exact—to celebrate, publisher Neowiz has given its employees some solid bonuses.
All staff in developer Round8 Studio—and the publisher's own Lies of P wing—will reportedly get a $7,300 bonus (10 million South Korean won), two weeks' additional paid vacation, and a Switch 2 console.
>> That’s awesome!

'Where did he go?': Blade has gone missing in Marvel Rivals, which has the rumour mill theorising that he'll finally be added to the roster in Season 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/where-did-he-go-blade-has-gone-missing-in-marvel-rivals-which-has-the-rumour-mill-theorising-that-hell-finally-be-added-to-the-roster-in-season-3/
Oh to be left alone, to sleep for three months, it's something I've only ever dreamed of, but it's a feat that Marvel Rivals' mysterious character Blade has managed to pull off. But now, a couple of weeks before Season 3, the sleepy vampire has disappeared—suspicious.
"Mrrrr! Mrrr! Mrr! (Where did he go this time?!)," Marvel Rivals' social media says. Blade's no longer in his resting place, he's nowhere to be found. Now general sentiment is that this means he's one of the two new heroes coming in Season 3, but he could've also just wanted to get up and stretch his legs: he's been asleep for an awfully long time.

Final Fantasy 14 is doing what it should have done 6 years ago and fulfilling its promise to let every race wear hats
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-is-doing-what-it-should-have-done-6-years-ago-and-fulfilling-its-promise-to-let-every-race-wear-hats/
When MMOs are populated by races of all shapes and sizes, it's inevitable that some of them—let's face it, usually the less humanoid folk—are going to get the short end of the stick when it comes to nice-looking gear. (…)
As revealed during a recent livestream, a whole heap and hats and headgear will finally show up on Hrothgar and Viera starting in August's Patch 7.3. According to translations from the Final Fantasy 14 community Discord, Yoshida said the team "managed most of them, except for metal pieces like helmets," which should be added in future updates.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's VA for Gustave jokes that he feels 'like a total fraud' since he spent just 4 hours in the booth—and while 'fraud' is way too harsh, Gustave's mocap actor does deserve laurels, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/clair-obscur-expedition-33s-va-for-gustave-jokes-that-he-feels-like-a-total-fraud-since-he-spent-just-4-hours-in-the-booth-and-while-fraud-is-way-too-harsh-gustaves-mocap-actor-does-deserve-laurels-too/
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is getting—rightfully, in my opinion—lauded for its heartfelt performances and deeply emotional story, which paints a deep and effective canvas of grief for its players. As part of those celebrations, the actors behind its characters are also getting their kudos, too. A smidge too much kudos for Charlie Cox, apparently.

Cyberpunk 2077's surprise 2.3 patch gets a surprise delay as CDPR needs some time to aim 'for a scope similar to Update 2.2'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cyberpunk-2077s-surprise-2-3-patch-gets-a-surprise-delay-as-cdpr-needs-some-time-to-aim-for-a-scope-similar-to-update-2-2/
You're gonna be waiting a little while longer before you return to the neon-slick streets of Cyberpunk 2077, I'm afraid. CD Projekt Red has come out on social media to announce that—though it had hoped to put out the surprise patch for the game on June 26—it's proving a bigger task than it first thought, so it's being delayed to some as-yet-unspecified post-June-26 date while the devs get everything ship-shape. "Need a little more time in the oven, my chooms," says Cyberpunk 2 associate game director Paweł Sasko on Bluesky.
>> After the big comeback this game has had, it would be a shame if the last big update were a turd. So yeah, makes sense to delay it to get it right.

REPO devs are planning something diabolical for the upcoming museum map: 'Get ready to Mission: Impossible your way past laser security modules'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/repo-devs-are-planning-something-diabolical-for-the-upcoming-museum-map-get-ready-to-mission-impossible-your-way-past-laser-security-modules/
REPO's big update has been in the works for a few months now. As well as providing a new way to deal with one of the most annoying monsters—the duck—this update will add a whole new and massive map.

Final Fantasy 14 director Yoshi-P admits 'our quality of service has declined recently' and 'we got used to things a bit too much and got comfortable'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-director-yoshi-p-admits-our-quality-of-service-has-declined-recently-and-we-got-used-to-things-a-bit-too-much-and-got-comfortable/
As I wrote earlier this year, Final Fantasy 14 is in a bit of a weird spot. The highs of the Endwalker's narrative conclusion and the WoW exodus have officially tapered off, leaving players with a fairly middling introduction to its new story and frustrations around patch cadence.
(...)
Director and producer Naoki Yoshida is pretty aware of the disruption it's all been causing, as he briefly discussed at the beginning of a livestream last week. "I've been feeling that our quality of service has declined recently, I am very for that," Yoshida told viewers (thanks to the Final Fantasy 14 community Discord for the translations), adding that there have been "too many bugs that we need to have an emergency maintenance or a hotfix for."
Yoshida claims he's had chats across both the community and development team, before saying: "It feels like we got used to things a bit too much and got comfortable."
>> Admitting the existence of a problem is the first step. Now comes the hard part: do something to fix it.

Phasmophobia devs 'don't want to walk into the live service area' with seasonal events, but still have plans to keep the community engaged
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/phasmophobia-devs-dont-want-to-walk-into-the-live-service-area-with-seasonal-events-but-still-have-plans-to-keep-the-community-engaged/
Some brave souls play Phasmophobia all on their lonesome, but that could never be me. I'm more in it for the shared, community-driven haunts, so when I noticed the new Twitch Drop section of the ghost hunting game's UI during a Summer Game Fest demo, I asked the team if they had plans to expand on other community activities, like seasonal events.
"I think one of the key things is we don't want to walk into the live service area," said lead social and community manager Tom Dent. "We're very much like, the game is the game, and we have those events to sort of bring our year together. We want to steer clear of that kind of vibe. But also our community is so active, so excited. So to continue to engage them is super important."

I have a couple more articles to post that may surprise you:

One gamer got so tired of waiting for Valve, he made his own 'Steam Controller 2' out of Steam Deck parts, and it even splits in half like Switch Joy-Cons
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/one-gamer-got-so-tired-of-waiting-for-valve-he-made-his-own-steam-controller-2-out-of-steam-deck-parts-and-it-even-splits-in-half-like-switch-joy-cons/
The Steam Controller is dead, long live the Steam Controller. Though its influence is still felt today through the Steam Deck's design and Valve's excellent gamepad support, a true successor to the owl-faced pad ain't walking through that door anytime soon. Cue YouTuber TommyB and his DIY "Steam Controller 2" for all your dual touchpad needs.

One lucky Redditor has managed to snag themselves a mythical AMD Radeon GeForce RTX RX 9070 XT. Yes, you read that right
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/one-lucky-redditor-has-managed-to-snag-themselves-a-mythical-amd-radeon-geforce-rtx-rx-9070-xt-yes-you-read-that-right/
When PC hardware manufacturers make mistakes, it's usually in the form of a problem. It might be a loose-fitting cable, a fan that spins too slowly, or thermal putty that oozes everywhere. Either way, it's rarely a good thing, and when it happens, you'll want a replacement asap. Not so in the case of one lucky Redditor, who suffered this exact scenario, only to be issued with the ultimate in rare graphics cards: An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT plastered with Nvidia RTX logos and branding.

It's a tale that many of us have experienced at some point in our PC gaming lives. Well, the first part at least. Reddit user u/Fantastic-Ad8410 bought a new Asus TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT, only to find that it wouldn't recognise when a second monitor was plugged into it.

So, they did the natural thing, returned to the retailer and picked up a like-for-like replacement. But upon opening the box, it wasn't another Asus TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT staring at them. No, it was an Asus TUF Gaming Radeon GeForce RTX RX 9070 XT graphics card.

Oh, and one more thing: tomorrow is festive here and there'll be no news. Have fun tonight!

Starting to see some downward pricing movement on AMD's Radeon 9060XT cards... Stock has been readily available since launch, but cards like the Sapphire Pulse 9060XT 16GB have seen a $60 AUD price drop from $689 down to $629 AUD.

Cards like the Powercolour 9060XT 8GB have dropped to $499... Which if you are only playing older games or esports games is *fine* but still massively overpriced.
I would still go for the 6600XT 8GB at $299, you get less performance, but it would still run the same games (I.E. eSports titles) for $200 cheaper.

9070 XT's have also seen some price drops.

Could be because of tax season and the financial year driving sales, but hopefully it sticks around longer.

I'm surprised by the 9060XTs already going down in price as they launched not so long ago, but we've starting to see that happening in many regions with lots of cards, mostly Nvidia as they're the ones that sell the most, like this article about the 5070 falling below MSRP in Japan and being much lower than that in Germany.

In a way, that is to be expected, as people that rushed to get a card at launch have already gotten one and now that supply is matching demand, prices will correct themselves to MSRP or below if demand is nowhere to be found.

It's refreshing because this is what used to happen, until the crypto boom messed up that behaviour with the RTX3000/RX6000 gen and the 4000/7000 acted also in a weird way.

By the way, the guys at ComputerBase have gone an IPC comparison between Ada-Blackwell and RDNA3-4 cards to see the IPC improvements, and the results aren't surprising:

Original article: https://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/blackwell-lovelace-rdna-4-rdna-3-performance-vergleich.93228/

I found a summary at TPU: https://www.techpowerup.com/338264/gpu-ipc-showdown-nvidia-blackwell-vs-ada-lovelace-amd-rdna-4-vs-rdna-3

Supposedly UDNA is another RDNA4-like leap so that sounds pretty good on paper.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 announced with 8GB GDDR6, $249 price, launching mid-to-late July

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5050-announced-with-8gb-gddr6-249-price-launching-mid-to-late-july

AMD’s Ryzen CPUs Crush the Competition on Amazon’s Best-Seller List, Leaving Intel Struggling to Stay Relevant to Consumers

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-cpus-found-dominating-amazons-best-selling-cpu-list/

ASUS mixes up Radeon RX and GeForce RTX: RX 9070 XT TUF card found with RTX cooler

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-mixes-up-radeon-rx-and-geforce-rtx-rx-9070-xt-tuf-card-found-with-rtx-cooler

GeForce RTX 5090 “Double-D” 24GB graphics card for China set to launch in August

https://videocardz.com/newz/geforce-rtx-5090-double-d-24gb-graphics-card-for-china-set-to-launch-in-august

ASUS RTX 5090 ROG Astral shunt mod unlocks 800W power, surpasses RTX PRO 6000 in benchmark

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rtx-5090-rog-astral-shunt-mod-unlocks-800w-power-surpasses-rtx-pro-6000-in-benchmark

Samsung Is Reportedly Struggling With High-End Nodes as 1.4nm Gets Delayed to 2028, Focus Now Shifted Towards the 2nm Process

https://wccftech.com/samsung-is-reportedly-struggling-with-high-end-nodes-as-1-4nm-gets-delayed-to-2028/

AMD UDNA architecture rumored to power PS6 and next Xbox with big ray tracing and AI gains4

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-udna-architecture-rumored-to-power-ps6-and-next-xbox-with-big-ray-tracing-and-ai-gains