Monday has come, and with it, the Monday gaming news:
SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS
Overwatch creeps past Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty's concurrent players on Steam, hitting its biggest peak in years
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-creeps-past-battlefield-6-and-call-of-dutys-concurrent-players-on-steam-hitting-its-biggest-peak-in-years/
I've never met anyone with uncomplicated feelings toward Overwatch, especially if you count the years it spent sporting a number 2 on the end of its name, but it feels like the start of a new era for the decade-old hero shooter. The 2 is outta here, five new heroes are inbound, and the game is really fun right now. If you ask me, it's been fun since Stadium hit the scene, but I digress—people are flocking back to the game in droves.
As spotted by Windows Central, the charts on SteamDB have seen a big upward trend in the last week. As I write this on a Sunday afternoon, it's sitting at around 68,000 concurrent players, which is surprisingly close to its all-time peak of 75,608. Right now it's just above DayZ and Call of Duty, and there was a bit there on Feb. 8 where it was well above Battlefield 6.
While that might not sound super impressive considering that Marvel Rivals is well into the six figures range, it's worth noting that much of Overwatch's community began playing and continue to on the Battle.net launcher. Exactly what percentage of the playerbase is represented on Steam isn't clear, but as a vague indicator of the game's popularity taken with a grain of salt, it shows that something is bringing people back.
Steam has two new deals and some sales that launched during the weekend:
Fanatical has a new Star Deal, a new sale and two new/old bundles:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
-Nothing today-
MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
Fallout: New Vegas’ Next-Gen HD Texture Pack Got Even Better
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-new-vegas-next-gen-hd-texture-pack-got-even-better/
In January 2025, we informed you about a Next-Gen HD Texture Pack for Fallout: New Vegas. And that pack got even better. Modder ‘Montisz’ has released a new version of it, as well as an add-on for the Tales of Two Wastelands.
For those who did not know, Tales of Two Wastelands is a mod that combines Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas into one game. It allows both games to be played in a single playthrough. It also upgrades Fallout 3’s mechanics to those of FNV, while balancing both games to feel like you’re playing one full game (instead of two different games using the same character).
To improve the game’s textures, the modder used the SeedVR2.5 Diffusion AI model. Unlike many other AI texture packs, this one adds realistic details, like wood grain, rust, and fabric textures, that you couldn’t see before. It also makes text sharper and easier to read.
>> The article has some before vs after screenshots.
The Witcher 3 Got a New Questline for Ciri and a New Region
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-got-a-new-questline-for-ciri-and-a-new-region/
Modder ‘Fandera’ has released a new cool mod for The Witcher 3 that adds a new questline for Ciri, as well as a new region to explore. Inspired by The Witcher 4 Cinematic Reveal Trailer, the mod adds the Kingdom of Kovir and Poviss region to the game.
The story focuses on Ciri not as a legend, but as a person who underwent witcher mutations and was forced to live with their consequences.
This is a really cool mod that adds new free content to the game. As such, everyone who still plays The Witcher 3 should give it a go.
The mod takes between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours to complete. To get the proper experience, you’ll need the Next-Gen version, as well as the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions. The mod also requires the latest version of the Custom Player Characters mod and the Community Patch.
Those interested can download the mod from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find a video for it. This 10-minute demonstration video shows the new region and a bit of combat. So, be sure to watch it as it can give you an idea of what you can expect from it.
You can launch “Dawn over Kovir” from an old The Witcher 3 save or by selecting “New Game” -> “Dawn over Kovir Only.” To get to Kovir and start playing as Ciri, follow the quest “One More Thing”.
Witcher 3 mod restores a darker ending for the Hearts of Stone expansion that was cut during development
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-witcher/witcher-3-mod-restores-a-darker-ending-for-the-hearts-of-stone-expansion-that-was-cut-during-development/
Brothers in Arms is a mod for The Witcher 3 that combines bug fixes with restoration of cut content. It's a frequently updated mod—last time we checked it restored a bunch of dialogue, including a Yennefer romance scene—but the most recent update is particularly substantial. The lengthy list of additions in version 3.1.0 includes the note: "Restored a completely new plotline - Shani's fate during Hearts of Stone expansion. Features a new ending for the expansion (optional)."
As shown by YouTube's exhaustive Witcher 3 documenter xLetalis in the video above, this plotline helps explain why Shani returns in the Hearts of Stone expansion. At one point in development her life would have been at stake if you crossed the expansion's villain Gaunter O'Dimm.
The restored scenes use dialogue found in the game files, which suggests this plotline was cut quite late in development, but everything else has been made from scratch. It's incredible how well it fits, with everything from camera angles to character animations and lip-sync up to the standard of the rest of the game.
Brothers in Arms is a mod for The Witcher 3 that combines bug fixes with restoration of cut content. It's a frequently updated mod—last time we checked it restored a bunch of dialogue, including a Yennefer romance scene—but the most recent update is particularly substantial. The lengthy list of additions in version 3.1.0 includes the note: "Restored a completely new plotline - Shani's fate during Hearts of Stone expansion. Features a new ending for the expansion (optional)."
As shown by YouTube's exhaustive Witcher 3 documenter xLetalis in the video above, this plotline helps explain why Shani returns in the Hearts of Stone expansion. At one point in development her life would have been at stake if you crossed the expansion's villain Gaunter O'Dimm.
The restored scenes use dialogue found in the game files, which suggests this plotline was cut quite late in development, but everything else has been made from scratch. It's incredible how well it fits, with everything from camera angles to character animations and lip-sync up to the standard of the rest of the game.
>> The video mentioned is over 15 minutes long.
I thought I was finally free from stealth-focused Skyrim builds, then someone modded in the ability to hide in bushes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/i-thought-i-was-finally-free-from-stealth-focused-skyrim-builds-then-someone-modded-in-the-ability-to-hide-in-bushes/
It's me, the player who starts Skyrim over and over with different mod loadouts and yet, nine times out of 10, ends up crouching with a bow shooting draugr in slow motion. Every now and then I push myself into another playstyle—like two-handed melee barbarian or summon-focused wizard—but drift back to my old favorite. I haven't installed the mod that just kills you if you play Stealth Archer again, but I am absolutely part of the reason that mod exists.
Not that I needed it, but now I have another reason to go back to my old favorite next time I fire up Skyrim. Hide in Bushes is a real "does what it says on the tin" mod that makes you 50% harder to detect when you crouch in a bush, with a lower percentage bonus for smaller shrubs, and makes you 10% harder to detect when you crouch near a tree or stump.
The reason this mod didn't exist until now is that it needed the Object Impact Framework mod first. Object Impact Framework flags a bunch of Skyrim's objects that previously had limited interaction so they can be activated in new ways. Want to be able to set fire to strong alcohol? Or extinguish torches? First you need Object Impact Framework.
Now those bushes and trees count as objects Skyrim cares about, they can have effects added to them. Like a boost to your stealthiness. Unfortunately grass doesn't count as an object—it's just a texture—which means you can't hide in it no matter how long it grows. Still, I expect my next khajiit to be squatting on his haunches behind a shrub for most of my next playthrough, and I will love every minute.
>> The article has links to several mods, but no media.
Terraria's biggest mod manager will require months before it's fully compatible with the 1.4.5 patch: 'Updating tModLoader to major Terraria releases is a huge undertaking'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/terrarias-biggest-mod-manager-will-require-months-before-its-fully-compatible-with-the-1-4-5-patch-updating-tmodloader-to-major-terraria-releases-is-a-huge-undertaking/
Terraria's long-awaited 1.4.5 update finally arrived in January, digging up a treasure trove of new features like an overhauled crafting interface, a new world seed, updated visuals, crossover items with Palworld and Dead Cells, and a vast array of new objects, mobs, and secrets to discover. It's gone down a storm with Terraria' community, but there is one aspect to the update that players will have to wait a little longer for—mod compatibility.
This is because Terraria's mod support relies heavily on tModLoader, an open-source addon that facilitates both creating and playing mods. It's an enormously popular tool, with a user-base that rivals some of the biggest games. But as with many mod projects, the 1.4.5 update has produced compatibility issues that will take some time to fix.
This was explained by tModLoader's creators in a Steam post. "We know everyone is looking forward to tModLoader and mods having access to all of the new content and features as well," the modders wrote earlier this week. "We'd like to remind users that updating tModLoader to major Terraria releases is a huge undertaking."
For context, the modders pointed out that it took nine months to update tModLoader when the previous patch for Terraria—1.4.4—released. The good news is tModLoader's creators don't expect fully supporting 1.4.5 to take as long, as changes to the mod shouldn't be as extensive as they were for the 1.4.4 version.
"During that process, many large features were added to tModLoader to better support the capabilities of mods, which did extend the porting process quite a bit," the modders pointed out. "We don't expect quite as many large changes this time."
In the meantime, the modders request that the community be patient. The post is frank about whether mods will work immediately with 1.4.5. "The short answer to this is 'no'. Modders will, however, have ample opportunity to update their mods to v.1.4.5 before it is officially released, so as long as the mods you are using are still maintained by the modder, they should be available on v.1.4.5 once it has a stable release."
A GTA modder has got the 1997 original working perfectly on modern PCs and Steam Deck, and it's a joy to behold: 'I wanted pick up-and-play GTA on Windows with the best possible compatibility without classic installation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/a-gta-modder-has-got-the-1997-original-working-perfectly-on-modern-pcs-and-steam-deck-and-its-a-joy-to-behold-i-wanted-pick-up-and-play-gta-on-windows-with-the-best-possible-compatibility-without-classic-installation/
In the most welcome of news, you can now play the original Grand Theft Auto—the 1997 top-down, chaos-in-a-shoebox crime simulator that started it all—on modern PCs and Steam Decks without cursing at your screen and tearing your hair out. As a long-suffering bald man, I'm not sure I can confidently pin my lack of follicle fullness on being unable to reliably run the OG GTA on modern hardware until now, but it has always been a total faff.
Removed from digital storefronts such as Steam by Rockstar in the earliest stretch of last decade, middling mods and haphazard emulation have hardly managed to bridge the gap in the interim. Enter LukeStorm, who has packaged the game into something he calls GTA Ready2Play, a plug-and-play mini-time-capsule that runs like it somehow belongs in 2026.
For LukeStorm, this wasn't a crusade so much as a hobby spiralling into digital preservation. "It's truly a passion project for me to prepare older games in my own Ready2Play style," he says. "My Ready2Play bundles everything to play easily without tinkering and classic installation on modern Windows systems. The individually crafted portable launcher ensures that the game is ready to play at any time."
What's fascinating is how unambitious the project's beginnings were. LukeStorm didn't set out to revive a community, engineer a definitive version, or solve compatibility issues for thousands of nostalgic players. "I wanted to have GTA (Windows version) with the best possible compatibility and without classic installation in my Ready2Play style—that was my only idea," he says. "For a long time, it wasn't clear whether I would release Ready2Play in this form at all."
Yet here it is. And if the stream of positive replies and comments on the mod's GTAForums' thread are anything to go by, calling it celebrated among those playing likely doesn't do it justice.
>> The article has several screenshots.
Modders have already put mechs, music boxes, and an 'MMO-style dungeon' in Hytale, impressing Hypixel founder: 'Absolutely crazy talented'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/modders-have-already-put-mechs-music-boxes-and-an-mmo-style-dungeon-in-hytale-impressing-its-lead-dev-absolutely-crazy-talented/
Hytale's been dropping updates faster than I've been able to keep track of, what with the addition of necromancy and flamethrowers, but Hytale's players are keeping a pretty strong pace too. The game already has a whopping 4,000 mods on CurseForge, and it doesn't seem like things are slowing down anytime soon.
Browsing CurseForge you'll see all the givens, like HUD tweaks and the gravity gun from Half-Life, as well as stuff that bridges the gaps left open by incomplete features—you can't tame a horse in vanilla Hytale yet, but mods like Traveling Mounts are a suitable band-aid. There's also all the people pushing the boundaries of what's possible, like the folks who got Hytale running in Hytale and invented Minecraft x Hytale crossplay.
Then there's jaw-dropping projects like Runeteria, which dropped an "MMO-style dungeon" yesterday featuring unique legendary weapons and a custom boss fight. There appear to be piles of lethal goop that will hurt you, which I assume is what they mean by MMO-style. Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme took to X to shout out the ambitious mod: "Absolutely crazy talented team … All of this on their own, I haven’t had the chance to chat with them yet!"
This isn't even the first unique dungeon of its type. A recent community-run Hytale modjam handed second place to a Tron-esque, custom boss dungeon called The Forerunner. First place went to a mod that adds programmable music boxes, and the community favorite added giant mech suits with machine guns and rocket launchers you can pilot in the open world.
>> The article has has links to several mods, but it only has one screenshot and one video from one of them.
Thanks to one mad modder, we can now play Doom on an in-game terminal in Ultrakill
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/thanks-to-one-mad-modder-we-can-now-play-doom-on-an-in-game-terminal-in-ultrakill/
Doom can run on so many weird devices now, it's easier to tally up the things that don't support id's 1993 masterpiece. But running a game inside another game always tickles my lizard brain, and Squaresweets on GitHub has delivered: The Ultimate Doom, fully playable within the New Blood FPS Ultrakill.
Every level in Ultrakill begins with a diegetic shop terminal, sort of like the ones in Prey or the new (oh god, the newest one is 10 years old now) Deus Exes: You can walk up and seamlessly use your mouse to select loadouts without the game pausing, locking you in place, or hijacking the screen for a disconnected UI window. It's a neat effect I'm always happy to see, and now protagonist bot V1 can use it to get some frags in before it gets some frags in.
Squaresweets built off the work of xabblll's DoomInUnityInspector and sinshu's managed-doom source port. Sinshu's source port was written in the Unity-compatible C# language, and xabblll's project got Doom running within the Unity editor. Squaresweets then brought it across the finish line to run in an actual Unity game.
You'll need a .wad file of a version of Doom 1 to supply the art and assets for Squaresweets' ultradoom.wad—at the time of writing, Ultradoom does not support any user-made projects like MyHouse.wad. That DOOM.wad can be sourced from a retail copy of Doom—I pulled mine from the Nightdive re-release—or the shareware version, which you can still get for free on the DoomWorld forum. Installation also requires the BepinEx Unity modding utility.
>> Besides a screenshot and a video, the article also has the instructions to get the mod/game running.
Deadlock players are modding the weirdest characters into the game, including Linguini and Remy, Hatsune Miku, and LeBron James: 'Skin walker Linguini cannot be unseen'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/deadlock-players-are-modding-the-weirdest-characters-into-the-game-including-linguini-and-remy-hatsune-miku-and-lebron-james-skin-walker-linguini-cannot-be-unseen/
I consider myself to have a pretty high bar for tolerating the unnerving and weird. But watching a long-armed Linguini slap players around in Deadlock triggers a fight or flight response in me that my ancestors probably felt when they saw a prehistoric cave bear for the first time.
The Linguini and Remy over Mo and Krill mod does exactly what it says on the tin; it transforms Mo into Linguini and Krill, the creature riding on Mo's back, into Remy. The only problem is that Mo has slightly different proportions from Linguini. This means Linguini's arms are uncannily long, and he runs around the map on all fours: nightmare fuel.
You can watch Linguini slap Vyper around in FairyColonThree's video: "Vyper was trying to go to heaven, I guess LMAO." Everyone else in the comments seems equal parts amazed and terrified. "What in the Slenderman?" one player asks, while another simply states: Skin walker Linguini cannot be unseen, I am changed forever." Me too, Ringus123, me too.
But if you look closer at the video, you can see Linguini and Remy aren't the only modded characters playing. Hatsune Miku is modded over Bebop, meaning her ult is quite literally a Miku Miku beam, and Pikachu is modded over Seven.
There are more character mods out there than just that. The LeBron James mod for Abrams has been around for quite some time, and players have been making the most of it for months now: "It's so perfect." Alongside LeBron, there's also a Spider-Man Lash mod, which actually looks weirdly accurate.
>> The article only has one screenshot from one of the mods.
GAMING NEWS
The Legend of Khiimori's new gameplay shows Death Stranding with a horse is an idea that has legs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-legend-of-khiimoris-new-gameplay-shows-death-stranding-with-a-horse-is-an-idea-that-has-legs/
Horses in real life terrify me. They're absolutely huge, can bite off your fingers, kill you in a single kick, and their sweat is all foamy and stinky—gross. Horses in videogames, though? They're another kettle of fish entirely. Kettle of horses? Forget the kettle. The point is, I love a good equine boah as long as they're made of pixels. That's why the new gameplay walkthrough for upcoming early access horsey delivery game The Legend of Khiimori has me so excited to trek through 13th-century Mongolia.
What if instead of Agent 47 you were just some doofus who 'accidentally' killed a guy in a hotel room? Dispose of the evidence in this physics-based stealth game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/what-if-instead-of-agent-47-you-were-just-some-doofus-who-accidentally-killed-a-guy-in-a-hotel-room-dispose-of-the-evidence-in-this-physics-based-stealth-game/
Look, you're no Agent 47. You're not an expert in stealth, assassination, and the disposal of corpses. You're just a normal person in a regular hotel room who has accidentally, or maybe "accidentally," murked some dude. And now you and your friends need to get rid of the evidence.
In physics-stealth game We Are So Cooked, you and your pals are in a bit of trouble. Accident or not, a dead body in a hotel room is difficult to explain, so you've got to haul it out of there. Problem is, bodies aren't easy to carry: they're heavy, floppy, and have been known to leave a trail of blood behind them.
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