Finished Dispatch last night. It's so good! I'm tempted to do an immediate replay, something I rarely do for games. I can see why it's supposedly getting a tv adaptation; it certainly feels like an interactive animated series. I really hope they make more because I love the world and characters they've built.

New 240p/360p resolution tests show what DLSS 4.5 can rebuild from almost nothing

https://videocardz.com/newz/__trashed-22

This is the type of test that always amazes me as to how revolutionary DLSS was to upscaling tech. Insane!

Micron says it’s ‘helping consumers’ by removing Crucial from consumer market

https://videocardz.com/newz/micron-says-its-helping-consumers-by-removing-crucial-from-consumer-market

Ai should start replacing these marketing people cause hot damn, these are horrible excuses lol

Intel Core Ultra 290K Plus spotted on Geekbench

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-ultra-290k-plus-spotted-on-geekbench

AMD sets Ryzen 7 9850X3D review embargo to January 28

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-sets-ryzen-7-9850x3d-review-embargo-to-january-28

SK Hynix Announces Mega Investments to Enter Advanced Packaging Business as AI Demand Forces It to Take Production Into Its Own Hands

https://wccftech.com/sk-hynix-announces-mega-investments-to-enter-advanced-packaging-business/

ASUS Adds NitroPath DRAM To Its Mainstream X870 NEO Motherboards, Boosts DDR5 Memory By 400 MT/s

https://wccftech.com/asus-nitropath-dram-mainstream-x870-neo-motherboards-boosts-ddr5-memory/

Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, Flagship Arrow Lake-HX CPU Spotted In Acer Predator Helios Laptop

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-ultra-9-290hx-plus-arrow-lake-hx-cpu-spotted-acer-predator-helios-laptop/

NVIDIA’s Next Generation of AI Systems Could Alone Gobble Up Millions of Terabytes of NAND SSDs, Potentially Worsening Storage Shortages

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-next-generation-of-ai-systems-could-gobble-up-millions-of-terabytes-of-nand-ssd/

ASUS quietly pulled its Arc B390-powered Zephyrus G14 from CES after it appeared in Intel’s own demo room

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-quietly-pulled-its-arc-b390-powered-zephyrus-g14-from-ces-after-it-appeared-in-intels-own-demo-room

The Tuesday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Arc Raiders has surpassed 12 million players worldwide: 'a milestone we owe entirely to the players', and to celebrate, Embark is handing out a free golden pickaxe
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-has-surpassed-12-million-players-worldwide-a-milestone-we-owe-entirely-to-the-players-and-to-celebrate-embark-is-handing-out-a-free-golden-pickaxe/
There seems to be no cap on how successful Arc Raiders can become. From the very start, it broke expectations by reaching over 100,000 playing within 30 minutes of the game launching and has since gone on quite the run, with the latest milestone hitting 12 million players worldwide.
"Reaching 12 million downloads is a milestone we owe entirely to the players,” Aleksander Grøndal, executive producer of Arc Raiders, says in a press release. “The community of raiders has helped shape this game from the very beginning, and their passion, feedback, and ingenuity continue to guide how we build, support, and grow this world for the long term."
(...)
To celebrate this milestone of 12 million players actually working together (or at least half of them), Embark has decided to gift all who want it a gilded pickaxe. It's quite the upgrade to the old grey one: "To celebrate the milestone and thank the global Raider community—intended as a gift to Raiders for helping Embark Studios reach the 10 million downloads milestone, which was quickly surpassed—Embark is offering a free in-game reward. The Gilded Pickaxe is available to all players for a limited time."

GOG has the new Fast-Paced Promo, with games up to 95% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20260113_fast_paced_promo.

Steam has one of everything: one new deal, one new sale, one new festival (that I completely missed yesterday) and one usual affair:

• Animal Shelter 2 has a demo and a 30% discount until the 26th of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2658510/Animal_Shelter_2/
• The sale is Team17’s Hidden Treasures Sale, with games up to 95% off until the 19th of January: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32941731/sale/hiddentreasuresjan26
• The new Festival is the Steam Detective Fest, featuring demos and up to 90% discounts until next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/category/detective
• And the usual affair involves, of course, the new Weeklong Deals

And Fanatical has the Monster Hunter - Build your own Bundle (Stories Edition), with 4 games and 3 DLCs to mix and match in your 2+, 3+ or 5+ bundles during 30 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-monster-hunter-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

'Steam is winning with its ease of use,' GOG's new owner says, but he's not interested in picking a fight: 'I think much can be done in GOG without losing its core values and the way it operates'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/steam-is-winning-with-its-ease-of-use-gogs-new-owner-says-but-hes-not-interested-in-picking-a-fight-i-think-much-can-be-done-in-gog-without-losing-its-core-values-and-the-way-it-operates/
CD Projekt wrapped up 2025 by selling off GOG, its famously DRM-free digital storefront, to Michal Kiciński , a co-founder of both CD Projekt and GOG. In the years since it launched, GOG has expanded beyond 'good old games' to carry a selection of newer releases, but it remains relatively niche, and has never been a big moneymaker for CD Projekt.
But in a new interview with GamesIndustry, Kiciński and GOG managing director Maciej Gołębiewski said there's room for it to flourish and find success, even in a marketplace so utterly dominated by Steam.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Baldur’s Gate II: Rebirth is a new total conversion mod for BG2: EE
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/baldurs-gate-ii-rebirth-is-a-new-total-conversion-mod-for-bg2-ee/
The Baldur’s Gate II: Rebirth modding team has released a teaser trailer for its upcoming mod. Baldur’s Gate II: Rebirth is a complete Total Conversion mod for Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. It introduces an original storyline, characters, and world that are built from the ground up.
The mod will have five chapters to play. Suzail will be imagined in all its glory, consisting of 9 areas along with all important landmarks, like the Royal Palace Grounds, the War Wizard Citadel, Docks, Slums, Sewers, etc. You can also expect 5 major cities or regional hubs. These will be Dhedluk, Waymoot, Immersea, Eveningstar and Wheloon.
>> The teaser is almost 2 minutes long.

This cool mod adds a collection of high-quality 4K aircraft to GTA 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-adds-a-collection-of-high-quality-4k-aircrafts-to-gta-5/
Modder ‘UltimativeGraphicsGTA’ has released a new cool mod for Grand Theft Auto 5. This mod adds a collection of high-quality 4K aircraft to GTA V, including jets, helicopters, and planes.
Going into more details, the Air Supremacy Collection is a premium 4K aircraft mod that upgrades flying in GTA V. It adds a big set of fighter jets, military helicopters, and high-end aircraft, all made with great detail. Every aircraft has 4K textures, realistic materials, and accurate lighting. The mod is also optimized so it looks great without slowing down your game. Whether you are flying over Los Santos, fighting in the air, or just exploring, this mod gives you a cinematic and impressive flying experience.
You can go ahead and download the first public beta of the mod from this link. This beta pack represents the foundation of a growing aircraft collection. The modder plans to add more aircraft and make refinements in future updates. Do note, though, that this mod is for the Legacy version of GTA 5. It’s not for GTA 5 Enhanced Edition.
>> Other than the headline picture, there’s no other media in the article.

The Witcher 3 Just Got a Must-Have Online Multiplayer Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-just-got-a-must-have-online-multiplayer-mod/
And the time has finally come. Modder ‘rejuvenate’ has just released an online mod for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This mod lets you play the entire game with your friends, complete quests, and explore the world.
Witcher Online is a mod that adds multiplayer to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. With this mod, players can join servers and play together with friends. You can customize your character with Custom Player Characters and relax in taverns using the Chill Out feature. You can also chat with other players, use emotes, and roleplay with strangers. Best of all, you can experience the full story of Geralt and Ciri from beginning to end, all while exploring the world of The Witcher with other players.
Each player will be able to see their equipped armor, swords, crossbow, scabbards, hair style, and face mark. There is also full movement and combat sync. Players can swim, ride horses, and fight enemies. Yes, you read that right. You can fight with your friends against all of the game’s enemies.
You can also use a lot of different emotes that other players will see. There are some great quality-of-life features made just for online play. For example, when you open a menu, a status will appear above your character’s head showing which menu you’re in. When you type in chat, your message will also appear above your head. The mod also fully syncs crthdr’s Chill Out mod. This means you and your friends can smoke, go fishing, sit, sleep, or even chop trees together.
In short, this is a must-have mod for all The Witcher 3 fans. You can download it from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find two videos for it. These will give you a glimpse at what you can expect from it. So, be sure to watch them.
Since this is a mod and not an official game mode, expect to run into some bugs and glitches. I’m saying this because some people may expect way too much from a mod like this. The fact that we can play the whole Witcher 3 campaign online with friends is already amazing. It easily makes this one of the best mods ever made for TW3.

One modder has already got Doom running inside the voxel-sandbox Hytale, and it's not even out yet: It plays 'a bit like a broken keyboard'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/one-modder-has-already-got-doom-running-inside-the-voxel-sandbox-hytale-and-its-not-even-out-yet-it-plays-a-bit-like-a-broken-keyboard/
Hytale is first and foremost a sandbox adventure RPG inspired by Minecraft, but having been made by a team of top Minecraft modders and community members, it's also built with modding in mind. And when mods are involved, things are bound to get very weird, very fast.
One Hytale modder by the name of "tr7zw", who's behind the time-saving Landmark fast-travel mod for the game, has done the inevitable: they've made Doom run inside Hytale, and it's as chunky and charming as you'd imagine.
"I'll be honest, I didn't plan for this…two to three nights with not enough sleep later and here we go: Doom running 100% inside a Hytale mod, before Hytale is even released," said the modder. "To quote @Simon_Hypixel [the co-founder of Hytale's development studio]: 'what'." That being, befuddlement at this cursed creation.
>> The article has some screenshots and a 2 minutes video.

Tuesday gaming news, part two:

GAMING NEWS

Arc Raiders removes a hidden first-person exploit just 1 day after it was uncovered: 'This feature was never meant to be player-facing'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-removes-a-hidden-first-person-exploit-just-1-day-after-it-was-uncovered-this-feature-was-never-meant-to-be-player-facing/
Over the weekend, one Arc Raiders player managed to crack into a forbidden first-person mode. But the fun was short-lived as it also unlocked a number of exploits, and as the devs aren't hot on the heels of any cheaters as of late, they wasted no time in pushing out a hotfix to prevent any further use of this exploit.
>> Of course, that’s not the only Arc Raiders article. These are the others: more discussion about its matchmaking (link); they¡ve also nerfed two of its strongest weapons (link); and how its design director sees AI (link)

The day after Epic enables microtransactions in Fortnite islands, one of the most popular games on the platform rolls out a $37 'gift pack' and in-game gambling
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/the-day-after-epic-enables-microtransactions-in-fortnite-islands-one-of-the-most-popular-games-on-the-platform-rolls-out-a-usd37-gift-pack-and-in-game-gambling/
Back in September, Epic Games announced that it would enable "in-island transactions" in Fortnite, meaning that makers of Fortnite islands would be able to sell items directly from within their creations—part of an unspoken effort to make the game, and the revenues it pulls in, a little more Roblox-like. Originally planned to roll out in December, the DIY microtransactions didn't end up going live until January 9, immediately after which things started going sideways.

Peter Molyneux's final game is coming in April: 'Masters of Albion is the culmination of my life’s work,' he says, not that he's overhyping it or anything
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/peter-molyneuxs-final-game-is-coming-in-april-masters-of-albion-is-the-culmination-of-my-lifes-work-he-says-not-that-hes-overhyping-it-or-anything/
Peter Molyneux may have spent the last couple decades earning a reputation as the game industry's biggest bullshitter, but to those of us of a certain age he will always rank among the greats (and the biggest bullshitter descriptor will always be deployed with a certain affection). The guy had a run through the 1990s that was almost unparalleled: Populous, Syndicate, Theme Park, Power Monger, Dungeon Keeper, and even Black & White, although it wasn't a 1990s game and didn't do much for me.
Anyway, the bottom line is that those roots run deep, and so when Molyneux sticks his head up to say he's making his "last game," as he did in October 2025, we're obligated to pay attention. Right? Well, I am, anyway, and so it is that I'll be looking to give Masters of Albion a go when it drops on April 22.

TikTok hit Quarantine Zone finally launched today and made the mistake of giving me a large medical hammer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/tiktok-hit-quarantine-zone-finally-launched-today-and-made-the-mistake-of-giving-me-a-large-medical-hammer/
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em! That's both the name of MC Hammer's third studio album and the phrase someone in Quarantine Zone: The Last Check should have said before promoting me to the title of doctor and handing me a large hammer. Unfortunately, they did not, so I am hurting 'em at every opportunity.
Quarantine Zone is a first-person medical sim you've probably been seeing clips of for months: it was a huge hit on TikTok following its first demo, and since the full game launched today on Steam you can expect to see a lot more clips, like this one of me carefully examining a guy before clonking him on the head with a hammer.

Minecraft's Mounts of Mayhem update has launched a DLC to add more trials that put your skills to the test, but most importantly it adds particle effects for when you're riding a horse
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/minecrafts-mounts-of-mayhem-update-has-launched-a-dlc-to-add-more-trials-that-put-your-skills-to-the-test-but-most-importantly-it-adds-particle-effects-for-when-youre-riding-a-horse/
Minecraft rolled out its Mounts of Mayhem update in December, adding new mountable mobs to the game alongside a new weapon: the spear. But, if you're just going about Minecraft as normal, you might feel as if you haven't been making the most of all these shiny new features. Fortunately, the Dungeon Descent Add-On may be the thing to change that, adding even more features to the game to help test your new spear-wielding skills.

My Winter Car is a 'dangerous, depressing and tiring' life sim, and the developer doesn't want you to play it unless you've mastered the infamously tricky My Summer Car
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/my-winter-car-is-a-dangerous-depressing-and-tiring-life-sim-and-the-developer-doesnt-want-you-to-play-it-unless-youve-mastered-the-infamously-tricky-my-summer-car/
It's only been a year since Amistech released its notoriously challenging Finnish life sim, My Summer Car. After nearly a decade of early access, it finally hit 1.0 in January 2025. Amistech hasn't been resting on its laurels since then, though. While PC Gamer was taking its big holiday nap, My Winter Car launched in early access.

Even Rockstar baulks as a Charlie Kirk assassination mission is created in GTA Online, bans it and censors his name, but there's more out there
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/even-rockstar-baulks-as-a-charlie-kirk-assassination-mission-is-created-in-gta-online-bans-it-and-censors-his-name-but-theres-more-out-there/
On December 10, 2025, Rockstar added a long-requested feature to GTA Online, and one that most fans feel is a trial run for an even more detailed rollout in the next iteration of the sandbox: a mission creator. Allowing players to "design and publish" their own missions within GTA Online, creators can set and tweak objectives, characters and mechanics to create their own scenarios, and then share them with the wider playerbase.
An omnipresent hazard with community creation tools is content created in bad taste, and soon enough Rockstar had an absolute all-timer on its hands. One player used the tools to put together a mission called "We are Charlie Kirk", in which players recreate the assassination of the rightwing political commentator and content creator Charlie Kirk. (...)
Rockstar has clearly decided it doesn't want any part of this near GTA Online, because it has banned the "We Are Charlie Kirk" mission. Rockstar has also added "Charlie Kirk" to GTA Online's profanity filter, meaning players cannot search for any future content that may be created using his name.

Dwarf Fortress issues a 'naked dwarf fix' after accidentally turning players' pride-and-joy into bearded nudist colonies
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/dwarf-fortress-issues-a-naked-dwarf-fix-after-accidentally-turning-players-pride-and-joy-into-bearded-nudist-colonies/
Dwarf Fortress rocketed out of the gates in 2026 with, even by its own bonkers patch note standards, one of the saddest six-word stories ever told: "Mothers no longer seek ghostly babies." This is a game that perhaps only Crusader Kings can match for patch note madness, and it turns out that the above update introduced another problem. Naked dwarves, anyone?
Dwarf Fortress is nothing if not granular, and this extends down to individual dwarves having to be clothed, and this clothing itself having considerable complexity with regards to quality, use, etcetera. The previous update suddenly had dwarves appearing in both the units screen and the citizens list without any clothes, though in-game they still went about as if fully clothed.
The new hotfix says it's a "small release to fix the freeze issue and the naked dwarves." There's a handful of other notes alongside it, including the mysterious "made female peachick visible again", so presumably invisible female peachicks have also been running around players' fortresses. Looking at naked dwarves.

The next Helldivers 2 warbond brings suppressed weapons and stealth tech to turn your helldives into sneaking missions
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-next-helldivers-2-warbond-brings-suppressed-weapons-and-stealth-tech-to-turn-your-helldives-into-sneaking-missions/
Between the handheld heavy ordnance, the on-demand gunship bombing runs, and the orbital artillery bombardments, Helldivers operations tend to run very loud. The next Helldivers 2 warbond, however, offers a more subtle alternative to Super Earth's standard ballistic bombast.
Called Redacted Regiment, the warbond is stuffed with suppressed weaponry and diversionary deployables for Helldivers who've been hoping since launch for a better stealth mission toolkit. Kept you waiting, huh?

And here are the other news:

Indie dev is delisting his AI game from Steam because his new girlfriend convinced him it's evil: 'The game existing in its current form is a disgrace to all game makers and players'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/indie-dev-is-delisting-his-ai-game-from-steam-because-his-new-girlfriend-convinced-him-its-evil-the-game-existing-in-its-current-form-is-a-disgrace-to-all-game-makers-and-players/

Anthem is finally, officially dead
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/anthem-is-finally-officially-dead/

Larian's main focus for Divinity is 'to see how far we can push the diversity of companions' so intra-NPC relationships can feel more natural and complex
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/larians-main-focus-for-divinity-is-to-see-how-far-we-can-push-the-diversity-of-companions-so-intra-npc-relationships-can-feel-more-natural-and-complex/

No doubt that is impressive (DLSS 4.5), but makes me wonder what it looks like on a 65-inch screen and in motion.  Either way, great news that technology can be used so we don't have to buy super expensive GPUs.  I am starting to think, via DLSS, my 4090 is going to have crazy legs.    

I think that a sequel, or second season as they may call it, is all but guaranteed.

With the way things are going, my 4090 might need last a lot longer than expected. I was initially thinking to upgrade to the 6090 but there's a good chance I'll need to wait for the 7090 if the ram prices don't stabilize. I am glad Nvidia's tech and driver support is as good as it is though since modern games are hella heavy for what feels like all the wrong reasons. I was initially thinking if spending so much on a gpu would actually be worth it but boy, it's the best decision I could have made in retrospect.

I'm on the same boat but IDK, would a 4090 even have some reselling value by the time the 7090 comes out? As with car ownership, there are some benefits to continuous upgrading.

Not that I bought my 4090 for it's resale value but with the way things are going, these flagship gpus might end up appreciating in value instead of depreciating or depreciating at a lower rate than expected. If Ai market continues to increase in demand, all 3 companies will prioritize enterprise over consumers for sure and vram will either be limited or the higher vram gpus will increase in price.

The best play really is to buy the best gpu within your budget range and stick to it for as long as possible and then upgrade when the opportunity arises instead of waiting.