What do you mean a 3080 won't be able to? Those are the recommended requirements, the minimal is 16GB of RAM and 8GB of VRAM so someone with a 3080 might just need to turn down the texture quality. We'll need to see how it actually runs but its minimal and recommended requirements seem pretty reasonable to me for a 2026 game.

Maybe, maybe.

I think the visual design and the technical side aren't really playing well together, leading to the technical side not really shining but still resulting in high system requirements anyway. Maybe someone with more eye for the technical side can correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I'm thinking right now.

True, true. I didn't pick my words correctly. Allow me to clarify: someone with a 3060 12GB card will be able to play the game (if the card is powerful enough, of course) at 1080p and 60fps, while someone with a 3080 will only be able to run it at 1080p and 30fps since the game asks for 12GB of VRAM for such setting.

And it will still feel weird.

As long as settings are configured right so it doesn't go over 10GB of VRAM FPS will be significantly higher on the 3080. It doesn't say but the recommended requirements is likely for running it on the high preset so texture quality might need to get turned down a tad but other than that it'll run way better on a 3080. Hell it lists a 3060ti for recommended and that only has 8GB so it might not even need 12GB to turn the texture quality up.

It really depends on how the game handles VRAM.

Many games when you run out of VRAM, don't actually tank performance.
Rather... Textures don't load in at higher quality settings, or even load at all. - I.E. Halo.

In 007's case, because it's using the Glacier engine, the same engine that Hitman 3 uses, it will result in stutter, crashes and texturing issues.

Turning down settings will resolve that. Hopefully it doesn't have the same VRAM memory leak that Hitman 3 had.

And that's why these system requirements are so weird and confusing, they don't make a lot of sense.

At least with Indiana Jones, the specs were clear.

Oh yeah the specs sheet is shoddy for sure. I just don't get the negative reactions I've been seeing on places like Twitter and Reddit since you mentioned Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and that had more demanding requirements in its spec sheet and it runs really well.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Outsells Every CPU On Amazon Germany; 40% AMD CPUs Sold Are AM4-Compatible Chips

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7-5800x-outsells-every-cpu-on-amazon-germany/

Acer says Nitro Blaze handhelds are not canceled, but there are no imminent launch plans

https://videocardz.com/newz/acer-says-nitro-blaze-handhelds-are-not-canceled-but-there-are-no-imminent-launch-plans

Dell admits customers are not buying PCs based on AI

https://videocardz.com/newz/dell-admits-customers-are-not-buying-pcs-based-on-ai

NVIDIA Broadcast 2.1.0 adds multi-GPU support

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-broadcast-2-1-0-adds-multi-gpu-support

Intel shows off Arc B390 graphics in games: “playable at 1080p with XeSS”

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-shows-off-arc-b390-graphics-in-games-playable-at-1080p-with-xess

Intel Jabs AMD With New Panther Lake Chips, Claiming Team Red Is Selling ‘Ancient Silicon’ in the Handheld Market

https://wccftech.com/intel-jabs-amd-with-new-panther-lake-chips/

AMD claps back at Intel claims that it uses ‘ancient silicon’ in PC gaming handhelds

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3026564/amd-claps-back-at-intel-claims-that-it-uses-ancient-silicon-in-pc-gaming-handhelds.html

Exclusive: Nvidia requires full upfront payment for H200 chips in China, sources say

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nvidia-requires-full-upfront-payment-h200-chips-china-sources-say-2026-01-08/

Samsung Magician SSD software ‘High Severity’ vulnerability patched — upgrade to the newest v9.0.0 to prevent potential DLL hijacking and privilege escalation

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/samsung-magician-ssd-software-high-severity-vulnerability-patched-upgrade-to-the-newest-v9-0-0-to-prevent-potential-dll-hijacking-and-privilege-escalation

Here come today’s gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

This week, the Epic Store gives away Bloons TD 6: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/bloons-td-6-bf95a0
There’s no word, at least yet, of the free games for next week. *Edit* They've now shared that they'll be Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness

GOG has two promos to check:

• The first one is the Stealth Promo that may have gone unnoticed by me (get it?), but it will only last 2 more days and has up to 94% discounts: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20260103-stealth-promoZZ
• The second one is the Sci-Fi Promo, that has games up to 97% off and will last 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20260108-sci-fi-promo

Steam has four new deals, but no new sales:

• Hidden Through Time will have a 50% discount until the 14th of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/524910/Hidden_Through_Time/
• Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 gets a 60% discount until the same 14th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/525510/Guns_Gore_and_Cannoli_2/
• House Builder has a demo and a 55% discount until January 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244630/House_Builder/
• And I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival: will be 50% off until the 21st of Januaryhttps://store.steampowered.com/app/1658040/I_Am_Future_Cozy_Apocalypse_Survival/

Humble Bundle presents the Decked Out Collection: Great on Handheld, with up to 7 games to grab durng 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/decked-out-collection-great-on-handheld.

And Fanatical has the BYO Military Operations Bundle (January 2026), with 17 titles to choose from for your 2+, 5+ or 8+ game bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-military-operations-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Nothing here-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

GTA 5 NaturalVision Enhanced December 2025 Update Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/gta-5-naturalvision-enhanced-december-2025-update-released/
A few days ago, Razed released new versions of both NaturalVision Evolved and NaturalVision Enhanced for Grand Theft Auto 5. So, let’s see what this latest versions bring to the table.
For those who don’t know, NaturalVision Evolved is the mod for Grand Theft Auto 5 Legacy. For those playing GTA 5 Enhanced, you can use the NaturalVision Enhanced Mod.
The NaturalVision Enhanced Mod is a complete visual upgrade mod that takes full advantage of the new ray tracing features. According to the modder, it reworks the game’s weather, lighting, ambient colors, world textures, models, and vegetation. What’s cool here is that Natural Vision Enhanced allows all light sources to cast shadows. This is something that the vanilla game did not feature. As such, it will further enhance the game’s ray-traced shadows. In other words, all objects will now cast RT shadows.
The NaturalVision Enhanced December 2025 Update will now work with game patch 1.0.1013.20. It also includes a new optional add-on called “Volumetric Clouds (Experimental)”, which adds realistic 3D clouds to Cloudy weather. The update improves Rain weather and rain effects, and it also gives brighter, better-looking lighting in Extrasunny, Clear, and Cloudy weather.
On the other hand, the NaturalVision Evolved December 2025 Update adds compatibility with game version 1.0.3725.0. It adds a special shader that gives puddles screen-space reflections, and another shader that makes raindrops appear on vehicles and weapons. There is also a new screen raindrop effect, where the drops slide across your screen depending on how fast your vehicle is moving. The modder also improved the Volumetric Fog shader and boosted overall performance. Lastly, Rain weather now has better lighting and color balance.
>> The article has an almost 2 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

PC demos for Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined & Parasite Mutant
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-demos-for-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined-parasite-mutant/
Square Enix and IceSitruuna have released the PC demos for Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined and Parasite Mutant, respectively. These PC demos will let you try these two games before they officially come out.
>> It’s funny because despite launching an around 3 hours long demo, Square-Enix has asked those playing the game early, via the Digital Deluxe edition of the game, to not spoil anything (link).

Part two of the gaming news:

'We don't use AI…to replace people,' claims Arc Raiders CEO, without actually explaining what they do use it for
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/we-dont-use-ai-to-replace-people-claims-arc-raiders-ceo-without-actually-explaining-what-they-do-use-it-for/
Regardless of how players feel about the technology, AI is increasingly encroaching on both the behind-the-scenes game development and the final product that lands in players' hands. Just recently, Sony patented an AI-powered 'ghost' to guide you through games, Razer has made a holographic AI assistant in a test tube, golden child Larian is using generative AI in its development process for Divinity, and the biggest shooters on the market, Call of Duty and Battlefield 6, are locked in a battle to sneak in as much terrible AI art as possible. It's grim out there.
And then there's Embark Studios, which has used AI in both The Finals and its latest and greatest hit, Arc Raiders. Both prominently feature AI voices, for example, which has once again sparked debate over the ethics of using AI to generate assets for games that used to be created individually by people, whether artists or voice actors.
Perhaps to help clear the air, in a recent interview with GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund expressed, "I think people have misconceptions about what [AI] means. I mean to us, we don't use AI to not have to hire people, or to replace people, or to replace job groups, that's not the point."
>> They use AI voices instead of hiring actors, but they aren’t replacing people. Sure... Anyway, there are other Arc Raiders/Embark articles: ”Arc Raider's defining feature, according to Embark's CEO, is all the odd player interactions” (link); “Embark CEO says Arc Raiders 'should do more with the trading part of the game'” (link; “Embark's CEO says they couldn't compete 'with the likes of EA and Activision' head on so they had to 'change the way games were being developed' (link).

Don't be scared of AI, says Troy Baker, because it's gonna push us toward 'the authentic' rather than 'the gruel that gets distilled to me through a black mirror'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/dont-be-scared-of-ai-says-troy-baker-because-its-gonna-push-us-toward-the-authentic-rather-than-the-gruel-that-gets-distilled-to-me-through-a-black-mirror/
AI! It's changing the world, you know. Pretty soon, there'll be no poverty, no hunger, no fear, and no doubt. The chiliasts were right: just over the horizon is a sweet eternity, brought about—somehow—by feeding a vast quantity of stolen art into a spellcheck machine and generating oceans of non-consensual deepfake pornography.
I'm sceptical. So too, kind of, is renowned videogame voice actor Troy Baker (Joel in The Last of Us, Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle), although he sounds a bit more optimistic than I am. In a chat with The Game Business (via Eurogamer), Baker said he's not scared of the tech, and suggested that when it all shakes out, a big impact of AI could be to renew people's interest in human-made art over machine-generated "content".
>> Yeah no, I’m not as optimistic as him.

Ubisoft closes its recently-unionized Halifax studio, says it's not because of the unionizing
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ubisoft-closes-its-recently-unionized-halifax-studio-says-its-not-because-of-the-unionizing/
Two weeks ago, staff at Ubisoft Halifax officially formed a union, with 74% of its employees voting in favor of forming a bargaining unit after the Assassin's Creed Rebellion developer filed for unionization in June. Today, Ubisoft announced that it's closing the Halifax studio, claiming that the timing is merely coincidental (via GamesIndustry.biz).

The Elder Scrolls Online devs promise that its new seasonal model 'is the beginning of a major shift' for the decade-old MMO: 'Frankly, we think we could make the game more rewarding and exciting'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/the-elder-scrolls-online-devs-promise-that-its-new-seasonal-model-is-the-beginning-of-a-major-shift-for-the-decade-old-mmo-frankly-we-think-we-could-make-the-game-more-rewarding-and-exciting/
The Elder Scrolls Online has had a bit of a rough go, recently, with its initially cool subclassing update not quite hitting the balance mark alongside a brutal rash of cuts at Microsoft, which saw the game's director quit.
Still, ESO's remaining developers have been adamant that it's not going anywhere, a promise that seems congruent with a recent deep-dive into the game's next plans—grab your calendar, baby, ESO's going seasonal.

More than 8 years after The New Colossus, a new Wolfenstein game is reportedly in the works at MachineGames
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/more-than-8-years-after-the-new-colossus-a-new-wolfenstein-game-is-reportedly-in-the-works-at-machinegames/
I wrote 10 years ago that MachineGames did something almost beyond belief with Wolfenstein hero BJ Blazkowicz, turning him from an anonymous slab of bicep into a "magnificently human" character: a man clinging desperately to a dream that he knows in his soul has no happy ending." Wolfenstein: The New Order and its sequel, The New Colossus, were both ridiculously good: Fantastic shooters at the guns-and-guts level, elevated to greatness through their commitment to story and characters.
(...)
Now, eight years after the last mainline Wolfenstein game, it looks like the series might finally be coming back to life. Windows Central reported a rumor today that Wolfenstein 3 is in development, coinciding with the Wolfenstein TV series being developed for Amazon that was announced in 2025.
>> I really enjoyed playing those two games, plus The Old Blood. I only hope the new game is less depressing that The New Colossus.

Europe's PEGI game rating website leaks a new Life is Strange game, and it sure sounds like Max and Chloe are getting back together
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/europes-pegi-game-rating-website-leaks-a-new-life-is-strange-game-and-it-sure-sounds-like-max-and-chloe-are-getting-back-together/
It looks like a new Life is Strange game is cooking at Square Enix, and you can thank the European game rating agency PEGI for letting us all know. As noticed by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, PEGI has posted a rating for a game called Life is Strange: Reunion, and even given us an outline of what it's all about.

Minecraft teases its first drop of 2026, and it might finally be the thing that stops me from being a passive mob killing machine
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/minecraft-teases-its-first-drop-of-2026-and-it-might-finally-be-the-thing-that-stops-me-from-being-a-passive-mob-killing-machine/
With the 2025 cycle of drops out of the way, Minecraft has already revealed a feature of its next update—and let me tell you, it's simply adorable. In fact, it's probably going to stop me from creating tiny little animal farms as a food source as a whole, which is a pretty dramatic statement given every Minecraft player seems to do the same thing.

Change the course of history in Rewind 99, a nostalgia-infused retail sim where you'll fight back against streaming services as the last remaining video rental store on the planet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/change-the-course-of-history-in-rewind-99-a-nostalgia-infused-retail-sim-where-youll-fight-back-against-streaming-services-as-the-last-remaining-video-rental-store-on-the-planet/
Despite no one who's ever worked as a retail worker recommending it, retail sims are a burgeoning genre following hits like Supermarket Simulator, TCG Card Shop Simulator, and (technically) Schedule 1. I suppose angry customers, low pay, and terrible hours aren't really that bad when it's all digital and you're holding the cards. It turns out, it's rather fun and relaxing running a fake store, managing stock and delivering expert customer service by way of your approachable, friendly demeanour.
After rummaging through upcoming releases on Steam, I've immediately fallen in love with Rewind 99, the latest in the line of retail sims, which launches into early access in March 2026. It's got something no other retail sim has: pizzazz (it's set in the 90s).

Since there are only a couple of "meh" news, I'll post them here as well:

Is today's puzzle game scene interesting? 'No, I don't think it is,' says Jonathan Blow, even though there are 'really good games in the past' devs could look to for inspiration
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/is-todays-puzzle-game-scene-interesting-no-i-dont-think-it-is-says-jonathan-blow-even-though-there-are-really-good-games-in-the-past-devs-could-look-to-for-inspiration/

Path of Exile 2 players suffer the consequences of dealing illegal amounts of damage as boss shrugs off a 95M-damage hit
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/path-of-exile-2-players-suffer-the-consequences-of-dealing-illegal-amounts-of-damage-as-boss-shrugs-off-a-95m-damage-hit/