I suspect it's inevitable that price increases also seep into consoles once the current component contracts are readjusted.

AMD to present FSR Redstone on December 10th, only Radeon RX 9000

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-to-present-fsr-redstone-on-december-10th-only-radeon-rx-9000

Noctua finally set to launch its iconic NH-D15 G2 cooler in Chromax Black

https://videocardz.com/newz/noctua-finally-set-to-launch-its-iconic-nh-d15-g2-cooler-in-chromax-black

AMD Radeon RX 9060 non-XT has been tested, 13-14% slower than RX 9060 XT 8GB

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-9060-non-xt-has-been-tested-13-14-slower-than-rx-9060-xt-8gb

AMD launches AMDGaming community hub for PC, console and handheld gamers

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-launches-amdgaming-community-hub-for-pc-console-and-handheld-gamers

ASUS updates ROG Xbox Ally X with P/E-core controls, turns off Radeon Super Resolution by default on Xbox Ally models

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-updates-rog-xbox-ally-x-with-p-e-core-controls-turns-off-radeon-super-resolution-by-default-on-xbox-ally-models

ASRock mentions “FidelityFX Super Resolution 4.1” for RX 9070 XT: new AMD feature or simple typo?

https://videocardz.com/newz/asrock-mentions-fidelityfx-super-resolution-4-1-for-rx-9070-xt-new-amd-feature-or-simple-typo

NVIDIA & Arm Partner To Bring NVLink Fusion Support On Neoverse Platforms, Hi-Bandwidth Interconnect For AI Data Centers

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-arm-partner-nvlink-fusion-support-on-neoverse-platforms-ai-data-centers/

German Overclocker Pushes DDR5 Memory To An Incredible 13,322 MT/s, Breaking All Previous DDR5 OC World Records

https://wccftech.com/german-overclocker-pushes-ddr5-memory-to-an-incredible-13322-mt-s/

Core Ultra X7 358H Improves By 9% In PassMark, Beating Core Ultra 7 255H By Around 4%

https://wccftech.com/core-ultra-x7-358h-improves-by-9-in-passmark/

ComputerBase's testing doesn't jive with the side by side testing Daniel Owen did with Ray Reconstruction and Ray Regeneration. He gave the edge to Ray Reconstrution but Ray Regenration held up well. It actually provided a more stable image in one particular aspect. For what ever reason the edge of the pool was unstable with Ray Reconstruction but not was fine with Ray Regenaration.

The Tuesday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Steam has all these deals and sales:

• Lost Skies will be 30% off until the 1st of December: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931180/Lost_Skies
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will also have a 30% discount until the 1st of December: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1643320/STALKER_2_Heart_of_Chornobyl
• Forever Skies is going to be 45% off until December the 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1641960/Forever_Skies
• For The King II will be free to try until Monday and also gets a 60% discount until December 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1676840/For_The_King_II
• Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments will be 90% off until, again, December the 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/241260/Sherlock_Holmes_Crimes_and_Punishments
• These are the new sales/events:
  • The Game Awards 2025 has a page with all the nominees. There are 4 games with discounts that go from 15 to 60% and that will end between tomorrow and the 24th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/thegameawards2025nominees
  • Czech & Slovak Games Week has upcoming titles and games up to 91% off until the 24th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41475492/sale/CzechSlovakGamesWeek2025
  • Cozy Quest 2025 has upcoming titles of this new genre, some demos and lots of games on sale with up to 85% discounts. The deals will end between 22nd of November and the 1st of December (at least for the games I’ve checked): https://store.steampowered.com/sale/CozyQuest2025
  • Publisher Gameloft will have its games up to 60% off until the 1st of December: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gameloft25
  • Koei Tecmo celebrate its Black Friday Sale putting its games on sale with up to 85% discounts until December the 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33016879/sale/BLACKFRIDAY2025
  • Made in Turkye has lots of games on display, but only three appear to have a discount and, oddly enough, none of those three appear if you check the game’s page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33265723/sale/MadeinTurkiye
• And here are the new : weeklong deals.

Fanatical has three sales (I don’t know if all of them are new) and a new bundle:

• HypeTrain Digital Games puts its games up to 90% off during 2 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/hypetrain-digital
• KOEI TECMO puts its games on sale with up to 65% discounts during 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/koei-tecmo-games-co-ltd
• Annapurna Interactive has its games 23% off, but it doesn’t say when it will end: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/annapurna-interactive
• The BYO Tabletop and Deckbuilder Games Bundle has 17 titles for your 3+, 5+ or 7+ game bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-tabletop-and-deckbuilder-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

7 years after launch and 18 years after Steam, the Epic Games Store will now let you gift games directly to your friends
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/seven-years-after-launch-and-eighteen-years-after-steam-the-epic-games-store-will-now-let-you-gift-games-directly-to-your-friends/
Good news, everyone! A mere seven years since it launched, the Epic Games Store has gifting now! The Fortnite developer announced the new feature in a post on the store, stating that "players can now purchase and send games directly to friends on their Epic friends list."
Users who purchase gifts through Epic's payment system will earn Epic Rewards—which gives customers between 5% and 20% back on Epic purchases. The post also says that "recipients can use their Epic Rewards balance to redeem gifts"—an odd phrasing that makes it sound like you'll need to use Reward points to redeem a gift you've been given. However, in the longer Gift FAQ, Epic clarifies that "you can use your Epic Rewards balance toward a gift purchase" which makes a lot more sense.
As for what you can gift friends on Epic, the answer is most items on the store, but not everything. The exceptions are free games (for obvious reasons) pre-purchase offers, subscriptions, and in-game currency or other consumable items. Anyone who receives a gift on Epic has 14 days to claim it, somewhat shorter than the 30 days allowed by Steam.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Pokemon Lazarus Fan-Made Game Now Available to Play on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/pokemon-lazarus-fan-made-game-now-available-to-play-on-pc
Pokemon fans, here is something really cool for you. Nemo622 has released a new Pokemon game that you can play on PC right now, called Pokemon Lazarus. So, let’s take a closer look at it, shall we?
Pokemon Lazarus is basically a ROM Hack of Pokemon Emerald that takes place in the brand-new Ilios Region. Players will explore an exciting new region based on Greece, meeting new characters and catching over 400 Pokémon, all in the classic GBC style.
Since this is a ROM Hack, you’ll need the ROM file for Pokemon Emerald. Otherwise, you won’t be able to play it. Also, Nintendo won’t be able to take it down. Again, this is a ROM Hack that will change the entire Pokemon Emerald game. It does not contain any copyrighted material. As such, Nintendo cannot do anything about it.
The download includes the BPS patch file for Pokemon Lazarus, alongside a README and 3 Documentation PDFs. You can go ahead and download it from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find a video for it. This video will give you a glimpse at what you can expect from it.
What’s also cool is that you can play Pokemon Lazarus on real hardware. So, if you want to get that retro feeling, you can dust off your Game Boy Advance and play it.

GAMING NEWS

STALKER 2 Title Update 1.7 Released – Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/stalker-2-title-update-1-7-released-full-patch-notes
GSC GameWorld has just released Title Update 1.7 for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

Battlefield 6 Title Update 1.1.2.0 Released – Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/battlefield-6-title-update-1-1-2-0-released-full-patch-notes
DICE has just released Title Update 1.1.2.0 for Battlefield 6 and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

Tuesday gaming news, part two:

Phasmophobia devs say all that live service malarkey can do one: they focus on making 'a fun game that people want to play because it's fun'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/phasmophobia-devs-say-all-that-live-service-malarkey-can-do-one-they-focus-on-making-a-fun-game-that-people-want-to-play-because-its-fun/
Phasmophobia is one of those unproblematic success stories. It launched in early access with such a well-conceived and executed core experience that I breathlessly proclaimed it "the best ghost game ever made." In the five years since, developer Kinetic Games has slowly but surely built Phasmophobia into the PC's definitive spook-buster (to the extent there's now a small niche in Phasmo-alikes).
(...)
Kinetic's clearly doing something right and, at the recent launch event for a comprehensive rework of Nell's Diner, CEO Daniel Knight and art director Corey Dixon told PCGN that dodging the usual live service trappings is kinda the point.
>> Expect more Phasmophobia articles coming from this interview in the coming days.

There's a valuable LEDX you can grab in Escape From Tarkov's tutorial—and it's lost forever if you don't
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/escape-from-tarkov-tutorial-ledx/
Digging into Escape From Tarkov's 1.0 release? In classic Battlestate Games fare, there's an ultra-rare LEDX that spawns in the tutorial, and if you miss it you'll need to find a whole extra LEDX later to either upgrade your MedBay to level 3, or hand it in for the late-game quest, Private Clinic.

Silent Hill f fans reckon that its recent casual difficulty patch was inspired by the lead actor's livestreamed struggles with the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-f-fans-reckon-that-its-recent-casual-difficulty-patch-was-inspired-by-the-lead-actors-livestreamed-struggles-with-the-game/
Silent Hill f recently received a big update that adds a casual difficulty, speeds up NG+ runs, and reduces the number of areas where players are forced to engage with combat. The patch seems like a sensible response to some general criticisms of the acclaimed horror revival. But fans of the series are convinced that the update originated from a much more specific source—the game's lead actor.

Microsoft's updated anti-cheating measures go far beyond Secure Boot, including 'Remote Attestation' for online system verification
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/microsofts-updated-anti-cheating-measures-go-far-beyond-secure-boot-including-remote-attestation-for-online-system-verification/
I think most of us would agree that cheating is a scourge upon multiplayer gaming. Anyone who's seen a blatant wallhacker or obviously-bot-assisted player rampaging their way across the map like Rambo after too much sugar would likely agree that something should be done. Well, Microsoft appears to be doing that something, as it's laid out its latest anti-cheating features alongside the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

'I've had so many projects that have been discontinued lately': Nier creator Yoko Taro says he's been working on plenty of games—but they keep getting cancelled before he can announce them
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ive-had-so-many-projects-that-have-been-discontinued-lately-nier-creator-yoko-taro-says-hes-been-working-of-plenty-games-but-they-keep-getting-cancelled-before-he-can-announce-them/
As one of the gaming industry's most treasured oddities, Nier series creator and masked enigma Yoko Taro contends with the fickle patience of a fanbase that's eager to know what he's working on next. As reported by 4Gamer (via Automaton), Yoko said during a G-Con 2025 discussion panel with Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya that—while his fans might joke that he doesn't do any work—he's actually had plenty of games in production recently.
The problem is they keep getting cancelled before anyone gets to see them.

'Hytale is saved': Riot sells cancelled game back to original co-founder, who promises to take it 'back to the original vision for Hytale'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/hytale-is-saved-riot-sells-cancelled-game-back-to-original-co-founder-who-promises-to-take-it-back-to-the-original-vision-for-hytale/
Five months after cancelling the development of Hytale and closing the studio working on it, Riot Games has sold the whole thing back to original co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme. And yes, that means work on the game has resumed: Collins-Laflamme said more than 30 former developers "who know this game inside and out" have been brought back to continue development, and more are expected to follow soon.

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick says gaming is 'moving towards PC' as the industry shifts away from closed systems, but we still don't have a GTA 6 announcement
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/take-two-boss-strauss-zelnick-says-gaming-is-moving-towards-pc-as-the-industry-shifts-away-from-closed-systems-but-we-still-dont-have-a-gta-6-announcement/
I've been around long enough to remember a time when "PC gaming is dying" was something people said without irony: A declaration that the convenience and power of consoles would soon put an end to the headaches and expense of playing games on PC. It didn't work out that way, of course, and these days it seems like the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction: PC gaming is thriving, and the walled-garden approach of conventional consoles is increasingly being called into question.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick expressed just that feeling in a new interview with Squawk Box on CNBC. "I think it's moving towards PC and business is moving towards open rather than closed," Zelnick said. "But if you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen—that's never going away."

The Game Awards 2025 nominees are here, and—surprise—Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was nominated for every qualifying category
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/the-game-awards-nominations-are-here-and-surprise-clair-obscur-expedition-33-was-nominated-for-every-qualifying-category/
With less than a month to go before Geoff Keighley's combination accolade blitz and advertising bombardment, The Game Awards has just announced its 2025 slate of nominees, determined by a yearly panel of critics, journalists, and industry personalities. And it is, without a doubt, the most French set of TGA nominations to date.
>> Alex_The_Hedgehog  has made a bingo thread about The Game Awards, in case you want to take part in it.

Blizzard hit the $90 dinosaur mount emergency button to fill the gap before the next WoW expansion and players are already dumping millions of gold into the ether to buy it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-hit-the-usd90-dinosaur-mount-emergency-button-to-fill-the-gap-before-the-next-wow-expansion-and-players-are-already-dumping-millions-of-gold-into-the-ether-to-buy-it/
It's a bit of a quiet time for World of Warcraft as players wait for the release of its next expansion. In this pre-Midnight lull, there's not much to do except prepare yourself for the removal of combat mods and the sweeping class balance changes. This, along with it being WoW's 21st anniversary, is probably why Blizzard decided now is a good time to drop that $90 mount again.

Krafton CEO allegedly asked ChatGPT to help him find a way out of paying Subnautica 2 devs their bonuses because he wanted to avoid the 'professional embarrassment' of being seen as a 'pushover'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/krafton-ceo-allegedly-asked-chatgpt-to-help-him-find-a-way-out-of-paying-subnautica-2-devs-their-bonuses-because-he-wanted-to-avoid-the-professional-embarrassment-of-being-seen-as-a-pushover/
A pre-trial brief filed by lawyers representing the ousted former heads of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds alleges that Krafton CEO Changham Kim was "desperate" to avoid paying them the bonuses required by their acquisition contract because of the "professional embarrassment" that would result from the perception that he overpaid for the studio. The filing claims Kim went so far as to consult with AI to figure a way out of paying, but even ChatGPT told him he was probably stuck.

And here’s part three:

My favorite horror game of 2025 sounds like a literal nightmare because its composer sampled the creaking of an old house and a metal saw scraping 'an instrument that sounded horrifying yet could have been made in feudal Japan'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/my-favorite-horror-game-of-2025-sounds-like-a-literal-nightmare-because-its-composer-sampled-the-creaking-of-an-old-house-and-a-metal-saw-scraping-an-instrument-that-sounded-horrifying-yet-could-have-been-made-in-feudal-japan/
Labyrinth of the Demon King is one of my top games of the year, a first person survival horror delve into Feudal Japan. Part of its appeal lies in the oppressive, stressful music and sound design by composer Remu Daifuku: This game has the worst, most disconcerting collection of gurgles, slurps, crunches, screeches, creaky floorboards, and haunting biwa string solos I ever done heard. I love it so much.
Demon King producer Andy Han got me in touch with Daifuku so I could find out how you make a game that sounds like literal hell. The answer, it seems, is some incredibly creative (and occasionally painful) sample work.

Legendary game designer, programmer, Space Invaders champion, and LGBTQ trailblazer Rebecca Heineman has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/legendary-game-designer-programmer-space-invaders-champion-and-lgbtq-trailblazer-rebecca-heineman-has-died/
Game developer Rebecca Heineman has died after being diagnosed with cancer last month. The news was shared to Bluesky by Heineman's friend, Heidi McDonald, while the most recent post on Heineman's GoFundMe is a goodbye message stating that her health was rapidly deteriorating, and she was entering palliative care. Heineman was 62, and the GoFundMe will remain live to help her family make final arrangements.

There is no glitch—turns out, you need more than just heroic dialogue choices to get Dispatch's best ending, you've gotta be good at your job, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/there-is-no-glitch-turns-out-you-need-more-than-just-heroic-dialogue-choices-to-get-dispatchs-best-ending-youve-gotta-be-good-at-your-job-too/
I've thoroughly enjoyed Dispatch—both the excellent story and the superhero radio dispatch simulator strapped to its underbelly. However, during my time playing those latter segments, I'd occasionally find myself wondering whether the game would've been a stronger TV show, and whether any of my choices made were actually factoring into the wider story.
Turns out, yes, yes they are, and not just in the obvious ways. I'm going to be getting into spoilers for Dispatch's ending, here. You've been warned.

Ex-Square Enix suit says you can whine all you like, but 'Gen Z loves AI slop' and everyone and their grandma is already using it
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/ex-square-enix-suit-says-you-can-whine-all-you-like-but-gen-z-loves-ai-slop-and-everyone-and-their-grandma-is-already-using-it/
Dismayed by the profusion of AI-generated slop in videogames? No, you aren't. Or if you are, then you aren't representative of the broad gaming audience. That's my takeaway from recent remarks by Jacob Navok, former director of business at Square Enix and current CEO at Genvid—a media company specialising in "a unique mix of a streaming show and video game"—on X (via GamesRadar).

Arc Raiders players decided to test who was friendlier, PC or console players: 'I am never playing the game on cross-play ever again'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-players-decided-to-test-who-was-friendlier-pc-or-console-players-i-am-never-playing-the-game-on-cross-play-ever-again/
It never ceases to amaze me just how friendly everyone in Arc Raiders is. I've not yet come across someone truly evil while playing solos. Sure, I've been shot at, but I've either won the fight or talked the aggressor out of attacking me. But I primarily play against other PC players. I haven't turned cross-play on yet, and by the sounds of things, I probably shouldn't.
>> Also, the new Deadline mine is very effective (link).

Staring down the barrel of a rough 2026, Ubisoft's UK arm says we're less interested in 'one time purchase' games and all about that live service dripfeed
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/staring-down-the-barrel-of-a-rough-2026-ubisofts-uk-arm-says-were-less-interested-in-one-time-purchase-games-and-all-about-that-live-service-dripfeed/
Ubisoft has decreed that fully-priced games you pay for once are no longer sure bets—and by "decreed", I mean stated as much in a sales warning offered by its division here in the UK. It's important to note that the arm in question, Ubisoft Limited, is mainly concerned with "wholesale publishing and distribution of games", rather than development.

Russia just added Stalker dev GSC to its no-no list of 'undesirable organisations', sobs that Stalker 2 promoted 'Ukrainian narratives' and 'aggressive Russophobic content'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/russia-just-added-stalker-dev-gsc-to-its-no-no-list-of-undesirable-organisations-sobs-that-stalker-2-promoted-ukrainian-narratives-and-aggressive-russophobic-content/
Stalker developer GSC Game World has been added to the Russian government's list of "undesirable organisations," per a press release from the country's Prosecutor General's Office. In other words, it's been deemed a threat to the "foundations of Russia's constitutional order, defensive capacity and security," and anyone in Russia maintaining ties to the studio could face punishment.
>> I’d consider that something to be proud of.

I forgot to post yesterday that Steam released the best new releases of October during the weekend, in case someone hasn't seen it yet:

https://store.steampowered.com/charts/topnewreleases/october_2025

You can't be serious. What in the actual...

I'm not going to complain about improvements, but rather the lack of them: I don't hear very much about improvements to Epic's service, but this one I time do, it's a feature that's only meant to increase sales. It's hard to avoid the impression that Epic doesn't really make any improvements unless they directly contribute to increased sales. Steam, on the other hand, still keeps finding ways to improve the user experience, even if it has no direct benefit to Valve. When I recently played the only game I've ever played on Epic, Alan Wake II, it was hard to not be amazed at how poorly Epic has treated the service and especially the client. It was by far the worst client I've used.

As far as I can see, Epic doesn't even pretend that it cares about its customers at all. It's impossible to ignore the free games, but with the service being this bad, in most cases I'd honestly rather pay for them elsewhere if I was interested in playing them.

Hopefully df will be the tie breaker but it is nice to see Radeon being competitive in Ray Tracing