I really hope those claims for UDNA/RDNA5 are legit, but when it comes to AMD GPUs, you have to take those leaks with huge amounts of salt.

After all, that's what they're trying to achieve, their goal, and they have failed before (RDNA3 was supposed to bring another 2x performance per watt jump over RDNA2 like the later did over RDNA1, but it fell short of that by quite a lot).

UDNA is CDNA-based plus it's the architecture Sony and MS have a stake on, just like RDNA2. Besides, it's just the same leap as RDNA4 vs. RDNA3.

So it's pretty beliveable especially given how much money CDNA is getting vs. the pennies the RDNA folks work with, TBH.

NVIDIA DLSS Transformer Model officially leaves Beta

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-dlss-transformer-model-officially-leaves-beta

HDMI 2.2 finalized: up to 16K, 96 Gbps bandwdith and mandatory Ultra96 cable certification

https://videocardz.com/newz/hdmi-2-2-finalized-up-to-16k-96-gbps-bandwdith-and-mandatory-ultra96-cable-certification

AMD Gorgon Point APUs Spotted In NBD Shipping Manifest: AMD Prepares “Refreshed” Zen 5-Based 10-Core And 12-Core SKUs

https://wccftech.com/amd-gorgon-point-apus-spotted-in-nbd-shipping-manifest/

Intel’s Next-Gen Nova Lake Desktop CPUs Could Be the Answer to AMD’s “X3D” Lineup, Rumored to Feature Big Cache Variants

https://wccftech.com/intel-next-gen-nova-lake-desktop-cpus-answer-to-amd-x3d-cpus/

While color gamut and brightness are good (if not underwhelming when it comes to HDR screens), the response time and ghosting is very wtf

I hope you like gaming news, because here are two days of them:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10
 
(Click here for the Top 100)

'Why did this stupid jam game sell more': Climbing game Peak has sold 1 million copies in under a week, outperforming its developer's most popular game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/im-gonna-crash-out-new-climbing-game-peak-has-sold-1-million-copies-in-less-than-a-week-outperforming-its-developers-most-popular-game/
Peak has well and truly broken containment, this little old climbing game from Aggro Crab and Landfall, known for games like A Crab's Treasure and Content Warning, has risen to success in just six days.
With over 10,000 very positive reviews on Steam, an all-time peak of 102,799 via SteamDB, and 1 million copies sold, a pretty good first week if you ask me. It certainly caught me by surprise and it seems like I'm not the only one.
"Why did this stupid jam game sell more copies than Another Crabs Treasure I'm gonna crash out," developer Aggro Crab said on social media. In February earlier this year, Aggro Crab and Landfall came together for a game jam—where developers make a game from scratch in as little as one day—and the result of the happy union was Peak. "We couldn’t be happier with this game and how it turned out," a blog post reads.
>> Here’s another article where they talk more about the development

Doing a victory lap, Dune: Awakening publisher reveals that 1 million players have already huffed 6 billion grams of spice
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/doing-a-victory-lap-dune-awakening-publisher-reveals-that-1-million-players-have-already-huffed-6-billion-grams-of-spice/
Dune: Awakening is doing a well-deserved victory lap at the moment. Following its launch on June 10, the survival MMO has already reached the impressive milestone of 1,000,000 players, according to the publisher.
That makes Dune: Awakening Funcom's fastest-selling game, even beating out its 2018 survival sandbox, Conan Exiles. The million player tally isn't the only set of digits Funcom has revealed: here's an infographic with all sorts of exceptional stats. Curious about the rate of sandworm incidents in Arrakis? Keep reading.
**here goes the infographic**
The statistics are pretty revealing. For instance, did you know that over 6 billion grams of spice have been consumed? In fairness, you aren't all just getting zooted. Spice sand in Dune: Awakening can be used to make valuable items, such as powerful consumables, or certain high-level schematics. Some abilities require you to consume spice melange, too.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 had over 2200% more Steam players this weekend than it did last June—and it's thanks in part to Kyrie Irving and his level 101 Emperor Palpatine
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/star-wars-battlefront-2-had-over-2200-percent-more-steam-players-this-weekend-than-it-did-last-june-and-its-thanks-in-part-to-kyrie-irving-and-his-level-101-emperor-palpatine/
We're still in the midst of an unexpected renaissance for Star Wars Battlefront 2. Last month, we wrote about the surprising upsurge of Battlefront 2 player counts on Steam, which was really only surprising for as long as it took to remember how good Battlefront 2 is. Over the last four weeks, those player counts started to tumble back downwards.
Until this last weekend, that is, when EA kicked off a 90% off sale. Overnight, Battlefront 2 player activity on Steam rocketed upwards, and by Sunday had reached a new all-time peak of 35,892 players according to SteamDB charts. That's more than triple the previous Steam peak of 10,489, and an over 2200% increase from last year's Sunday, June 23 player count of 1,540.
(...)
More recently, Battlefront 2 has been enjoying some very vocal support from one noteworthy champion: Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
Irving, a nine-time All-Star and 2016 NBA champion, has had an impressive career in professional basketball. He is also, as he revealed in a Twitch stream on Saturday, a Battlefront 2 diehard, where he's had an equally impressive career as a level 101 Emperor Palpatine.

Sloclap shoots, then scores as Rematch hits 3 million players, proving there's a surprising overlap between sports and fighting game fans
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/sloclap-shoots-then-scores-as-rematch-hits-3-million-players-proving-theres-a-surprising-overlap-between-sports-and-fighting-game-fans/
Rematch is a hit—nonchalantly dribbling its way to one million players on its first day of release. It's the latest game by Sloclap, who you might know from Sifu and Absolver—a brawler and a fighting game respectively, if you've been paying attention. The studio's gotten the art of kicking the crap out of someone down pat.
Well, it's continuing to crush it. Rematch has just hit three million players, per the game's official X account—that's presumably across platforms. It seems like the football (or 'soccer' if you're wrong) game has some solid staying power, too. At the time of writing, its 24-hour peak on Steam is still a very respectable 78,500.
"For those keeping score, that's 11.8 million matches played, 55.6 million goals scored, 33.5 million assists, and 69.1 million saves," boasts the announcement post.

Steam has all these deals:

• The first one is Luma Island, 20% off during 26 hours: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2408820/Luma_Island/
• Shotgun Cop Man, that has a demo, also has a 20% discount for the same 26 hours (from now on, I’ll only state when the deal ends if it doesn’t end before the Steam Summer Sale, to make it easy): https://store.steampowered.com/app/2966850/Shotgun_Cop_Man/
• Temtem: Swarm, still in Early Access, will be 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2510960/Temtem_Swarm/
• Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition features a 40% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2420110/Horizon_Forbidden_West_Complete_Edition/
• Grounded is going to be 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/962130/Grounded/
• AK-xolotl: Together gets a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1479140/AKxolotl_Together/
• Dread Templar will be 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1334730/Dread_Templar/
• Swordship has a demo and a massive 95% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1804270/Swordship/
• Katamari Damacy REROLL is going to be 75% off, but be careful! This deal will last until the 8th of July: https://store.steampowered.com/app/848350/Katamari_Damacy_REROLL/
• These are the sales/events:
  • The King's Bounty Franchise is on sale with up to 85% discounts until… yeah, tomorrow’s update: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/kingsbountyfranchisesale2025
  • The Far Cry Franchise is also on sale, also up to 85% off and also until tomorrow: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FarCryFranchise2025
  • Publisher HandyGames Summer Pre-Sale features games up to 90% off. Guess how long will it last: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32976304/sale/HandyGamesSummerSale2025
  • The free to play game March of Empires gives away the character of Hafþór Björnsson to anyone that logs in before June 30: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33216152/sale/marchofempire
  • This last one is weird. There’s this Happy Owlcat Birthday event that started yesterday, but it’s full of upcoming games and games that arn’t on sale. Do whateer you want with it: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44272419/sale/HappyOwlcatBirthday
• And there are also weeklong deals… but there’s only 8 of them.

Fanatical has these two deals:

• The Star Deal is Dragon's Dogma 2, 66% off. It started yesterday and will last another 24 hours or until they run out of keys (53% left): https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dragons-dogma-2
• The BYO Point and Click Collection has 14 games for your bundles of 3+, 5+ or 7+ titles during the next 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-point-and-click-collection

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Someone at Valve got their unit prefixes a bit muddled but a quick update for the latest Steam beta has fixed your slower-than-normal CPU reading
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/someone-at-valve-got-their-unit-prefixes-a-bit-muddled-but-a-quick-update-for-the-latest-steam-beta-has-fixed-your-slower-than-normal-cpu-reading/
In the world of science, SI prefixes are sacrosanct. Well, unless you happen to be a computing scientist, in which case the choice of prefix—mega vs mebi—can be a little controversial. It turns out that one programmer at Valve fell on the wrong side of the prefix war when showing your CPU clocks in the Steam performance overlay, but at least it's all been fixed with a tiny patch.
Last week, Valve added a performance overlay to the current Steam beta, and I have to say that it's quite nifty-looking. You get frame rates, clock speeds, processor utilisation, and memory consumption (RAM and VRAM), all in a handy bar that you place around your screen.
However, in some patches notes for the beta Steam client, Valve "fixed [the] Mhz/Ghz conversion for CPU speed values in Performance Monitor so values are not 2.4% lower than expected." How exactly does one end up missing 2.4% of a CPU's clock speed? The answer lies in the prefixes.
>> It’s like the capacity of storage, ones use 1000 and others 1024. The article explains it better.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

After 10 years, a modder is trying to add an ability to Batman: Arkham Knight that was cut from the game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-10-years-a-modder-is-trying-to-add-to-batman-arkham-knight-an-ability-that-was-cut-from-the-game/
Batman: Arkham Knight came out ten years ago. And now, a modder is trying to bring back an ability that was present in the previous Batman Arkham games but was cut from the game.
The ability that will make a return to Arkham Knight is the Bat Swarm. Modder ‘GPUnity’ is currently working on finishing it. However, there is no ETA for when it will come out.
What’s funny is that this ability appeared to be in the game files, but the devs decided to disable it. I don’t know why they did this. Point is that this mod will restore it, and this will most likely please a lot of Batman fans.
Another cool thing is that more than one character can now use Bat Swarm. Do note, though, that this ability won’t keep lieutenants stunned the whole time. So, you can’t just keep using it over and over to beat them easily. Still, once you do enough damage, the bats can knock out both lieutenants and other enemies.
Overall, this is a really awesome mod that will make the game a lot better. GPUnity plans to release it along with his Master Overhaul Mod. That mod will include a new skill tree, stronger and smarter enemies, and a cool Riddler Chest system that lets you unlock new suits. Also, the Batmobile will have different stats depending on which skin you use, making the game more fun and varied.
>> The article has an over 10 minutes video showing the bat swarm ability.

GTA 5 Enhanced Edition RealityV Mod V3.1 Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/gta-5-enhanced-edition-realityv-mod-v3-1-available-for-download/
Modder ‘BadassBaboon’ has released Version 3.1 of his amazing graphics overhaul mod for GTA 5 Enhanced Edition, RealityV. This new version is compatible with the latest update for GTA 5 Enhanced Edition, which adds two new Ray Tracing options.
For those who did not know, GTA 5 Enhanced Edition introduced Ray Tracing effects to the PC version. To be more precise, it now supports RTGI, RTAO, RT shadows, and RT reflections. Then, Rockstar added two new RT options. One gives higher quality reflections, and the other adds a second light bounce for RTGI.
The RealityV Enhanced Edition Mod V3.1 adds the 8K milky way night-time sky and stars from the Legacy version of RealityV. It also improves the game’s TAA, which should now cause far less ghosting than before. It also fixed the sun being too huge and bright during certain weather types.
And that’s not all. The mod also improves the way light and colors look in the game. This will make the Ray Tracing effects look better and the game look more realistic overall. PC players will also see better weather variety. Now, it won’t rain as often, more like in the original game, but with some upgrades. You’ll also notice nicer sky colors during sunset, especially when the weather is clear or extra sunny.
The modder also says that the new version of RealityV Enhanced Edition will make AMD FSR look better. This means the image will look sharper and edges will look cleaner. So, if you have an AMD GPU, this update is a big deal. But if you have an NVIDIA card, the game supports DLSS 3, which works better than FSR. So, there’s no reason to use FSR if you can use DLSS.
>> This article has no media of the mod.

Modders put the Executor into Elden Ring because if FromSoftware won't give us Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice 2, we'll do it ourselves
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/modders-plonk-executor-into-elden-ring-because-if-fromsoftware-wont-give-us-sekiro-shadows-die-twice-2-well-do-it-ourselves/
One of the most tantalising additions to Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was the introduction of the Deflecting Hardtear, a buff that basically turns you into John Sekiro himself. The only problem? It's locked behind a DLC that requires you to push over Mohg, and that boy isn't exactly an early-game boss.
Things looked up for us Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice lovers (there are literally dozens of us!) when FromSoftware introduced the Executor to Elden Ring Nightreign. And while I've come close to scratching my itch, it's still not the same.
For one, Executor's cursed sword stance is more of a defensive option—a cousin of the Guardian's Steel Guard—that lets the Executor plant his feet and swat aside anything with the right timing. But when you're not on the back foot, you need to be slapping things with two status-build katanas to do any real damage.
I'm still left hankering for my fix, because despite the fact that basically every non-FromSoftware soulslike has snapped up Sekiro's timed deflection system, the studio's been hesitant to release a sequel. Well, now we've got the next best thing—the Executor, who is basically Wolf from Sekiro anyway—has been ported by modders to Elden Ring.
The Executor in Elden Ring mod picks up the Executor by the scruff, yoinks him out of Limveld, and plonks him in Limgrave. It replaces katana movesets, giving you the Executor's swordplay while also letting you no-sell Margit like the chump he is—with the correct timing, of course.
The mod's author NinjaRaiden, who made it with help from McKenyu (and links to a separate mod by madao112 to give players the Executor's armor), posted a demonstration video while it was still in development—but you can also watch YouTuber Allence do a full playthrough of the game with the mod enabled below.
NinjaRaiden has plans for a version that'll let you pick which bits of the Executor you'd like ported. For instance, by default, the Executor has the Nightreign sprint—which does bust up the balance of base Elden Rings bosses a tad.
>> The Allence video in the article is over 40 minutes long.

Who needs Bethesda? Oblivion Remastered modders have cooked up FO4-style settlement placing even without official support
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/who-needs-bethesda-oblivion-remastered-modders-have-cooked-up-fo4-style-settlement-placing-even-without-official-support/
It is June 2025, and Oblivion Remastered has no official modding support from Bethesda. But who cares? Because I guess modders never needed any of that stuff anyway. It was just holding them back, man. In the two months since Bethesda and Virtuos' re-do of Oblivion came out, modders have managed to create a whole range of Oblivion Remastered mods even without an official creation kit, like making the Dark Brotherhood last forever and finding ways to make the whole thing play nice with lua scripts.
Modders' latest miracle? A kind of pseudo-settlement building system, Fallout 4 style (via RPS). It's catchily titled Oblivion Settlement Building – Spawn and Place Objects and it lets you do, well, exactly that: spawn and plonk down new stuff in the world like some kind of idle god.
It's not just tiny stuff, either. In the examples on the Nexus Mods page, you can see a player—presumably author MadAborModding—spawn huge walls, rocks, and beams and pop them all across Skingrad. It's kind of wild to see, as if modders have gotten so bored of not having a proper creation kit for Oblivion Remastered they've just decided to give themselves the tools of one in the game itself*.
Admittedly, it's all a bit aimless right now. Outside of the whole inventing-reality thing, there are no actual systems attached to the mod as yet. You can't fill your created environments with inhabitants or manage systems like water or trade.
But MadAborModding is kind of hoping someone will get a bee in their bonnet to make those systems now that this mod exists. "I hope someone expands this into an actual settlement system. My goal with uploading this is hopefully to bait someone into doing that," they write, adding "I want that kind of mod, but I don't want to be the one to make it," which is the most relatable sentiment ever published on Nexus Mods dot com.
Even as-is, though, I'm still impressed by just what dedicated modders are able to do in the absence of official tools. If you want to muck about with settlement building yourself, you can download the mod, install the Unreal Engine 4/5 Scripting System, and whack the contents of the mod download into OblivionRemasteredBinariesWin64MadSpawnFiles.
*There is a lot more to a creation kit than placing objects. Please do not email me.
>> The article only has one screenshot, that doesn’t say much about the mod.

Wanna make mods for Stalker 2? That'll be 700 GB of hard drive space, please
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/wanna-make-mods-for-stalker-2-thatll-be-700-gb-of-hard-drive-space-please/
It's a big day in the Zone: Stalker 2's mega 1.5 patch is here, bringing with it a suite of improvements to the game's ever-so-slightly busted and dearly missed A-Life system, a load of fixes, and some new content.
But frankly, I'll deal with that in a separate article, because what I want to speak with you about is the concurrent release of the Stalker 2 Zone Kit: what GSC Game World is calling its "phase 1" in modding tools for one of my favourite games from last year (even if it did launch kind of on fire).
"Shape the Zone in Your Way with the Stalker 2 Zone Kit," says the store page, "Modify existing content or create new experiences — animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone."
Which sounds great! I'd love to do that (in a magical alternate world in which I have useful skills like 'coding,' 'design,' and 'programming'), let me just whack that download button and make sure I have a free… 700 gigabytes?
That's right, folks. In what I feel must be some kind of record, the modding toolkit for Stalker 2 wants nearly a full terabyte of space to really stretch out on your hard drive or SSD. That's according to its system requirements on Epic, anyway; when I tried to install it myself, it asked for a 471 GB download which would unpack into 659 GB on the drive itself. Which is much more reasonable. That's fine, then.

GAMING NEWS

Here are the PC requirements for Digimon Story Time Stranger
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-pc-requirements-for-digimon-story-time-stranger/
Bandai Namco has released the official PC system requirements for its new Digimon game, Digimon Story Time Stranger. So, let’s see what PC system you’ll need to run it.

Simon the Sorcerer Origins, the prequel to the classic point-and-click adventure, is coming to PC on October 28th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/simon-the-sorcerer-origins-the-prequel-to-the-classic-point-and-click-adventure-is-coming-to-pc-on-october-28th/
In 2022, we informed you about Simon the Sorcerer Origins. Simon the Sorcerer Origins is a prequel to the classic point-and-click adventure game. And, a few days ago, ININ announced that it will be released on PC on October 28th.

Painkiller Remake Is Coming to PC on October 9th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/painkiller-remake-is-coming-to-pc-october-9th/
Anshar Studios and Saber Interactive have announced that their new Painkiller will be released on October 9th. This is a modern remake of the classic action game and will include co-op gameplay. To celebrate, they also released a new trailer you can watch below.

Project Motor Racing, Spiritual Successor to GTR, Releases on November 25th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/project-motor-racing-spiritual-successor-to-gtr-releases-on-november-25th/
GIANTS Software and Straight4 Studios have announced that their ultra-authentic racing sim, Project Motor Racing, will hit the track on November 25th. To celebrate this, the teams have shared a brand new trailer for it. This trailer focuses on the game’s Career Mode.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Update 1.0.6 Releases Tomorrow, Will Be 17GB, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/assassins-creed-shadows-update-1-0-6-releases-tomorrow-will-be-17gb-full-patch-notes/
Ubisoft announced that Title Update 1.0.6 for Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be released tomorrow and shared its full patch notes. This patch will be 17GB in size on PC. So, let’s see what it brings to the table.
>> That tomorrow is today.

The second part of the gaming news:

MindsEye's catastrophic launch to be followed by layoffs at former GTA producer's studio
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/mindseyes-catastrophic-launch-to-be-followed-by-layoffs-at-former-gta-producers-studio/
Build A Rocket Boy, the studio founded by former GTA producer Leslie Benzies, has begun a redundancy process (thanks, IGN). A 45 day consultation process has begun, which under UK law happens when an employer is planning over 100 redundancies within a 90 day period (Build a Rocket Boy is estimated to have 300 employees within the UK).

Stellar Blade's director admits 'the narrative was lacking', but wants to make up for it in the sequel
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/stellar-blades-director-admits-the-narrative-was-lacking-but-wants-to-make-up-for-it-in-the-sequel/
Stellar Blade director Kim Hyung Tae has admitted that the game was a little lacking in the story department, citing costs and a lack of developers in Korea who are familiar with more narrative-driven games.

Dune: Awakening is changing its endgame in response to player complaints: 'Our goal is not to force PvE players to interact with a PvP system that they may have no interest in'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/dune-awakening-is-changing-its-endgame-in-response-to-player-complaints-our-goal-is-not-to-force-pve-players-to-interact-with-a-pvp-system-that-they-may-have-no-interest-in/
Just a few days after a Dune: Awakening AMA in which developers promised some changes to the endgame, here's the first: Creative director Joel Bylos said today that some areas of the deep desert will be flagged as "partial warfare (PvE) areas," enabling players to explore what it has to offer without fear of getting caught up in fights they don't want.

After more than 7 years of development with nothing to show for it, Riot cancels the Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG Hytale and closes the studio making it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/after-more-than-7-years-of-development-with-nothing-to-show-for-it-riot-cancels-the-minecraft-inspired-sandbox-rpg-hytale-and-closes-the-studio-making-it/
After more than seven years of work, development of the sandbox RPG Hytale is being cancelled, and developer Hypixel Studios is being closed by parent company Riot Games.
"Today, I shared some incredibly tough news with the Hypixel Studios team: we’re ending development on Hytale and beginning the process of winding down Hypixel Studios over the next few months," Hypixel co-founder Noxy wrote in the cancellation announcement. "This is not the outcome any of us—at Hypixel or at Riot—wanted. But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn’t bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise."

Bloodlines 2 developer The Chinese Room has laid off employees, but Paradox says the game is still coming in October
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/bloodlines-2-developer-the-chinese-room-has-laid-off-employees-but-paradox-says-the-game-is-still-coming-in-october/
Almost side-by-side with the release of surprise Still Wakes the Deep expansion Siren's Rest, it appears that developer The Chinese Room has laid off an unknown number of employees. The cuts will apparently not have an impact on the schedule of the studio's current project, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, however, as publisher Paradox Interactive says it remains on track for October.

'There are big-ass tanky guys': Cronos: The New Dawn devs discuss the gruelling combat and beg players to not let the enemies merge, 'You will suffer'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/there-are-big-ass-tanky-guys-cronos-the-new-dawn-devs-discuss-the-gruelling-combat-and-beg-players-to-not-let-the-enemies-merge-you-will-suffer/
Cronos: The New Dawn is Bloober Team's next step after a successful Silent Hill 2 remake, and it's all on them this time. While there may be no original source material to work off, the devs aren't straying too far. Cronos is set to be a survival horror game; an incredibly gruelling one by the sounds of things.

System Shock 2's remaster is delayed for everyone but you and me
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/system-shock-2s-remaster-is-delayed-for-everyone-but-you-and-me/
Bad news: after over six years in development, Nightdive's remaster of System Shock 2 has been hit by one last delay, for old times' sake. Good news: since you're reading about it on this website, it almost certainly doesn't matter to you.
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster has been pushed back from June 26 to "the first two weeks of July," but only for console players. Anyone playing it on their desktop, laptop, Steam Deck, or what-have-you is still getting it on June 26—the PC version isn't getting any delay at all.

Türkiye's answer to Disco Elysium just broke cover, featuring more lawyers, fewer cops, an indeterminate amount of communism and twin fistfuls of guilt and regret
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/turkiyes-answer-to-disco-elysium-just-broke-cover-featuring-more-lawyers-fewer-cops-an-indeterminate-amount-of-communism-and-twin-fistfuls-of-guilt-and-regret/
Here are the two things I enjoyed most about visiting Istanbul a few years ago. One: the comingling of millennia of history and a patchwork of cultures at the meeting point between Asia and Europe, a city that has more compacted history in a square metre than most places do in a square mile, an endless festival of artistic and culinary pleasures. Two: there are like a billion cats everywhere.
Pera Coda—a Disco-Elysium-inspired "surreal narrative mystery" from Turkish studio Elyzio—promises to capture at least half of that: it's "set in Istanbul, a city of beauty in chaos," and offers "a surreal rendering of one of the oldest cities in the world, featuring iconic real-world locations." I will be staging a one-man riot if there isn't a new cat every few feet, though. Standards are important.

The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative is close to its final deadline, and after that, its leader is understandably done: 'Either the frog hops out of the pot, or it's dead'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/the-stop-killing-games-initiative-is-close-to-its-final-deadline-and-after-that-its-leader-is-understandably-done-either-the-frog-hops-out-of-the-pot-or-its-dead/
Ross Scott—also known as Accursed Farms on YouTube—has been fighting tooth and nail for almost a full year to help spearhead game preservation. Starting after it was announced that Ubisoft's The Crew would be shutting down, permanently ending support for the game, Scott launched the "Stop Killing Games" initiative.
As per a YouTube video (shared above) it's been a hard-fought battle—one that may well be in its twilight years. Given the UK government's stubborn stance on the issue, Scott's got his (tempered) hopes on the European Citizens' Initiative which, since its launch last August, is still shy of half a million signatures.
That makes a twofold deadline for the Stop Killing Games initiative. Or, at least, one headed up by Scott: The UK petition, which ends July 14, and the EU Citizens' Initiative, which ends July 3.

Overwatch 2 Season 17 is 'all about giving you more customisation' as 3 new heroes are added to Stadium with some pretty busted abilities
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-season-17-is-all-about-giving-you-more-customisation-as-3-new-heroes-are-added-to-stadium-with-some-pretty-busted-abilities/
Overwatch 2 Season 17 is carrying on the trend of positive upheaval with new changes to how the base game is played, alongside more additions to Stadium, Overwatch's newest and biggest spin-off.

C’mon, You knew there would be a third part of the gaming news, right?

War Thunder players have done it again: Yet another restricted document is leaked to win a forum argument
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/war-thunder-players-have-done-it-again-yet-another-restricted-document-is-leaked-to-win-a-forum-argument/
It's a day ending in "y" so you know what that means: as per tradition, military documentation not cleared for public release has once more been posted on the War Thunder forums in order to win an argument about a piece of hardware. If this sounds familiar, maybe it's because you've previously read about leaks involving the Eurofighter Typhoon and F117 Nighthawk, or the M2A2 Bradley.
A brief primer: War Thunder is developed by Gaijin Entertainment, a free-to-play military sim with real-world hardware from various eras. The game's schtick is realism and attention to detail, which attracts a considerably knowledgeable crowd of enthusiasts, including military personnel, who like to argue over the veracity of how the game simulates various vehicles.
Which is how we end up with things like a June 21 thread titled "All Harrier 2 missing extreme maximum G factor," where a War Thunder player called MatrixRupture decided to take the red pill. "We all know the Harriers are terribly incorrect," they begin. "Since the AV-8B manuals have been opened to be shared let's take a look… All that needs to change is the out-of-balance motion."

Valve announces Team Fortress 2 is getting 'a much-needed update' focused on Mann vs. Machine: 'A chilling cautionary tale where an artificial consciousness tried to take all our jobs'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valve-announces-team-fortress-2-is-getting-a-much-needed-update-focused-on-mann-vs-machine-a-chilling-cautionary-tale-where-an-artificial-consciousness-tried-to-take-all-our-jobs/
Valve has announced an upcoming Team Fortress 2 update as only Valve can. A new blog post begins:
"Thirteen years ago, we launched Mann vs. Machine, a chilling cautionary tale where an artificial consciousness tried to take all our jobs. You didn't know it back then, but that was actually a literary device called 'speculative' fiction, where writers (us) accurately predict the future (the present), but then hide it so as not to cause widespread panic."
Mann vs. Machine made its debut in 2012 and ever since the PvE mode has been one of the more popular ways to play: even today you'll easily find a match. Up to six players fight waves of AI bots (themed around the TF2 characters) while pushing a payload towards Mann Co., and spending cash to upgrade between rounds.
In a roundabout way, Valve says Mann vs. Machine is getting "a much-needed update" and so it's asking "the community to submit Mann vs. Machine maps and missions in time for that update" which has "the fictional deadline [of] Wednesday, August 27th."

Palworld studio changes its mind about releasing its co-op Hollow Knight-like in early access, will go straight to 1.0
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/palworld-studio-changes-its-mind-about-releasing-its-co-op-hollow-knight-like-in-early-access-will-go-straight-to-1-0/
Two years ago, Palworld answered the question, "What if Pokémon had base building and multiplayer?" Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse, Pocketpair's next game, developed by a new internal team, is giving the same treatment to Hollow Knight.
(...)
In its first Steam page update in over a year, Pocketpair now says Never Grave will forgo early access altogether, releasing in its full 1.0 form instead.

'The fans had no influence' on Karlach's improved Baldur's Gate 3 ending, says voice actor Samantha Béart—Larian had to dodge Starfield, but it was 'very much planned'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/the-fans-had-no-influence-on-karlachs-improved-baldurs-gate-3-ending-says-voice-actor-samantha-beart-larian-had-to-dodge-starfield-but-it-was-very-much-planned/
Baldur's Gate 3 was one of the best RPGs of the decade when it came out—and that accolade was only polished and shined in the ensuing months as Larian added patches to stitch up its wobbly ending. The biggest of these is, naturally, the epilogue—but there were a couple of minor additions before Patch 5, too.
For instance, Karlach got a whole new punk-rock conclusion that (spoilers, obviously) saw her light up a cigarette and charge a horde of devils—returning to Avernus for another chance at life with her new friends.
>> I’m cutting it there for the spoilers. Oh, and she knows about those stories written about Karlach...

FromSoftware to make the most brutal boss in Elden Ring Nightreign even harder, as Fulghor gets picked to be the next Everdark Sovereign
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fromsoftware-to-make-the-most-brutal-boss-in-elden-ring-nightreign-even-harder-as-fulghor-gets-picked-to-be-the-next-everdark-sovereign/
It's coming up to a month since Elden Ring Nightreign was released, and as players begin to get more comfortable with all the existing Nightlords, FromSoftware has begun to release Everdark versions of the bosses—suped-up atrocities which have a third phase.

WoW snaps up one of FF14's best features by letting players choose how many particle effects they want swamping their screens during raids
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wow-snaps-up-one-of-ff14s-best-features-by-letting-players-choose-how-many-particle-effects-they-want-swamping-their-screens-during-raids/
World of Warcraft's been making strides in the realm of visual clarity, recently—like upgrading its dreaded swirlies into actual, proper AoE markers. Well, more strides are just around the corner as Blizzard continues to make improvements.
As posted on the public test realm (PTR) forums for the game's upcoming patch, Ghosts of K'aresh, Blizzard'll be implementing a proper "spell density" system into the game. As the post explains, spell density currently just adjusts things based on your framerate—if you had a beefy system, you'd still be seeing every fireball and shadowbolt your raid could output.

The fact that Sony and MSoft have gone with UDNA doesn't really say much about it, besides the fact that it's going to be AMD's only architecture going forward, making it the only choice both console makers had, besides sticking to a, by then, old RDNA4 architecture for their machines.

If you have any source that describes UDNA, to compare it to both RDNA4 and CDNA and see to which one it looks more like, I'd appreciate it.

In any case, my comment wasn't about the architecture itself, but the fact that, sometimes, what sounds good on paper or simulations, doesn't translate into real world performance. We've seen it with both AMD and Nvidia in the past, with cards that should deliver more performance than they actually did based on the specs they had, but they didn't because there was an unnoticed bottleneck that hindered the overall performance.

And then, there's also the node it will use. It shouldn't happen, but we may find that in such dense chips, the promised extra speed or lower consumption isn't quite there.

The console architectures definitely have extra budget attached to them when it comes to RTG and their meager R&D. Always have had all the way back to the Xbox 360.

AMD has already released CDNA products on N3 and Nvidia seems pretty confident that they can squeeze 67% higher performance with Rubin vs. Blackwell (admitedly, very likely with increased power consumption) from the same node, so I'd wager they have a pretty good idea on whether or not they'll hit target by now in that regard.

It's a very shit display. The blur and response time is not great.
And sitting it next to my OLED Switch, looks very washed out... With IPS glow in darker scenes being prevalent... Which isn't an issue for bright and cheery games like Mario Kart World, but looks like an abomination in darker games like Ori: Will of the Wisps, Doom or Metroid Prime.

Part of that is the choice of display technology... Nintendo opted for IPS, which means it DOES have good colour gamut... Especially when compared to TN.
But it's got a slower response time.

I think Nintendo would have been better with a VA panel, especially with the high refresh rates which would have minimized the ghosting.. VA also has far far far better contrast and blacks than IPS, still not OLED levels, but would have been the appropriate compromise.

Yeah, that was to be expected since, as people on Famiboards discussed back then based on shipment data, this was the cheapest available LCD panel with these specs.