I have no idea if L4 and R4 have any use by default, but you can probably map them to the actions you'd like in games that allow remapping controls even when using a controller. Of course usually when a game supports controllers, extra buttons aren't needed, but they could still prove useful in some games. For anything of console origins, especially older consoles, I wouldn't expect there to be great options for mapping buttons though.

I've been using an 8BitDo Ultimate for Switch 2 and laptop. I like the design but durability has not held up compared to other controllers like my DualSense or Xbox controllers. No drift but the sticks are noticeably more wobbly than when I first bought it and the left one actually cracked on me after 9 months. Thankfully that's still under manufacturer warranty and 8BitDo is sending me replacement parts. We'll see how that ends up going. In the meantime I've gone back to Xbox for PC and the 8BitDo will be just for docked Switch 2 play assuming I fix it successfully.

OpenAI is shutting down its generative video app Sora. Presumably it was highly unprofitable and they need to drop ballast for their IPO. SeeDance is also having uptime issues too, though. Perhaps generative video is starting to get a reality check; it's certainly way more computationally expensive than most other types of content.

OpenAI claims to be repurposing their Sora compute for world models but I wouldn't be surprised if it's being used for Codex instead. Anthropic's enterprise revenue is skyrocketing and their gigawatt Amazon Carlisle datacenter is operational, while MS's Stargate is lingering behind.

I've always been a big fan of official Xbox controllers because I've never been able to find anything that comes close ergonomically but I can't remember the last time one of them got past 9 months before stick drift started and on some of them the right bumper starts double clicking or requires an heavier press to register which basically means I buy a new controller for £40 every 12 months because comfort is king.

I did this time try the 8BitDo controller as they always looked good and had some good features for the same price as official controllers but sadly after a week I returned it I just couldn't get used to it's shape it's a very small controller and the grip angle is real narrow and made my hands ache, So I swapped it in for a Gamesir Cyclone and currently gaming with it for a couple of weeks and I'm real happy with it so far it's very close it shape to the official Xbox controller and ergonomics are great just need to see how durable they are long term.

OpenAI is shutting down AI video generation Sora app and API, is this the first crack in the AI bubble?

https://videocardz.com/newz/openai-is-shutting-down-ai-video-generation-sora-app-and-api-is-this-the-first-crack-in-the-ai-bubble

Intel introduces Core Ultra Series 3 vPro series

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-introduces-core-ultra-series-3-vpro-series

Intel launches Arc Pro B70 at $949 with 32GB GDDR6 memory

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-launches-arc-pro-b70-at-949-with-32gb-gddr6-memory

Xbox could introduce lower-priced Game Pass plans, Netflix bundle on a table

https://videocardz.com/newz/xbox-could-introduce-lower-priced-game-pass-plans-netflix-bundle-on-a-table

Amazon cuts 12-core Ryzen 9 9900X3D to $449.99, Ryzen 9 7900X to $267.99

https://videocardz.com/newz/amazon-cuts-12-core-ryzen-9-9900x3d-to-449-99-ryzen-9-7900x-to-267-99

Geekbench flags Intel Binary Optimization Tool results as potentially invalid

https://videocardz.com/newz/geekbench-flags-intel-binary-optimization-tool-results-as-potentially-invalid

Borderlands 4 March patch improves PC performance, native FPS up by 43%

https://videocardz.com/newz/borderlands-4-march-patch-improves-pc-performance-native-fps-up-by-43

Sony’s new PSSR shares FSR Upscaling roots, but uses an INT8 implementation

https://videocardz.com/newz/sonys-new-pssr-shares-fsr-upscaling-roots-but-uses-an-int8-implementation

User Reports Artifacts And Crashes With NVIDIA RTX 4090; Inno3D Reportedly Advised Him To Replace Thermal Paste Instead Of RMA

https://wccftech.com/inno3d-reportedly-advised-user-to-replace-thermal-paste-instead-of-rma-on-rtx-4090/

These are the Wednesday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Analysts say Slay the Spire 2 is the best-performing deckbuilder of all time—and the competition isn't close
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/analysts-say-slay-the-spire-2-is-the-best-performing-deckbuilder-of-all-time-and-the-competition-isnt-close/
Slay the Spire 2 was an immediate success, delivering a top-selling launch day performance. But as more data emerges, it's become increasingly clear that Slay the Spire 2's launch is a historic record-setter. According to Newzoo, PC Gamer's official data partner, StS 2 is the best-performing deckbuilder of all time—and it's leading by a massive margin.
Steam peak concurrent users, while a flawed metric for a game's ongoing health, provide the clearest image of how Slay the Spire 2 is separated from other card game heavy hitters by orders of magnitude. Balatro peaked at 44,000 concurrent users in January 2025, Slay the Spire 1 at 57,000 in December 2025, and Monster Train 2 at 18,500 shortly after its May 2025 launch. Three days after its early access launch, Slay the Spire 2 peaked at 575,000 concurrents.
"That is more than 13 times Balatro's peak, and this is a $24.99 paid Early Access title with no console version yet. Mega Crit confirmed 3 million copies sold in the first week. At that price point, that implies roughly $75M gross before Valve's cut," Newzoo analysts told PC Gamer.

Players are starting to click with Crimson Desert as it climbs up to Very Positive on Steam and reaches 3 million sales—but Pearl Abyss promises more improvements
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/players-are-starting-to-click-with-crimson-desert-as-it-climbs-up-to-very-positive-on-steam-and-reaches-3-million-sales-but-pearl-abyss-promises-more-improvements/
As an unrepentant lover of weird, obtuse RPGs, I've been pleased to see the critical consensus on Steam turning in Crimson Desert's favour—and it is an RPG, despite Pearl Abyss's baffling insistence that it is not.
When Crimson Desert launched last week, it was quickly inundated with reviews both positive and negative on Steam. Players seemed to love its incredible scope, but they found its dodgy controls and obtuse design eccentricities a deal breaker. Steam user reviews settled on Mixed.
None of this stopped players from gravitating towards it, though—unsurprising, given that this is 2026's first blockbuster open-world romp. Within 24 hours, Pearl Abyss was celebrating 2 million sales. The team wasn't content to rest on its laurels, though, and promised improvements.
A few days later, a patch added much needed camp storage and nerfed some annoying bosses. Pearl Abyss also acknowledged that players weren't vibing with the controls, adding that this would be addressed in another patch.
The reviews started to become more positive, too, as the game shed its Mixed rating. And they've continued to climb, quickly going from Mostly Positive to Very Positive—that's from an impressive 25,000 reviews. It's racking up those sales, too, with Pearl Abyss announcing it had hit the 3 million milestone yesterday.

The Humble Store has launched the Playstation Spring Sale, with games up to 67% off. Surprisingly, the sale will only last 25 more hours so, be quick! https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/playstation-spring-sale/

Fanatical has the last 24h Flash Deals of the Spring Sale:

• Town to City has a 35% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/town-to-city
• Neon White is a very nice 69% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/neon-white
• And Neptunia x SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars features an 85% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/neptunia-x-senran-kagura-ninja-wars

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Batman: Arkham Origins Just Got a New Cool Remaster Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/batman-arkham-origins-just-got-a-new-cool-remaster-mod/
Modders ‘Neato’ and ‘GPUnity’ have released a new cool remaster mod for Batman: Arkham Origins. This mod brings new graphical features to this forgotten Batman: Arkham game. As such, you can now experience with better graphics on PC.
This remaster is part of the Advanced Graphics Mod we shared a while ago. In other words, it most likely features all of the improvements that were present in it.
Going into more details, this new version of the Advanced Graphics Mod brings higher quality reflections. PC players can now choose between 1080p and 4K reflections. Moreover, it features higher resolution Batsuit textures, better cape with advanced tessellation, better open world post-processing effects, and better shadows.
Additionally, it has better snow deformation height effects, which really make the game stand out. The mod also adjusts the HBAO+ intensity, updates the skyline textures, improves the resolution of real-time CCTVs, and reduces the shadow banding artifacts.
>> The article has an 8 minutes video.

Popular Skyrim mod returns after 9 years with a major update and a full source code release to keep it relevant 'for many years to come'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/popular-skyrim-mod-returns-after-9-years-with-a-major-update-and-a-full-source-code-release-to-keep-it-relevant-for-many-years-to-come/
Someone check on the Skyrim Nexus Mods, users because one of the most popular mods has reappeared with a new update after nine years.
SkyUI was last updated in 2017 for the release of Skyrim Special Edition, and then it went dormant. Years went by and it remained the best choice for making the game's fussy UI more PC-friendly, but as time went on, some players have had to install other mods to work around its limitations.
In today's surprise update, SkyUI 6, several of those limitations have been fixed. Separate mods that players have been using to supplement SkyUI have been integrated directly into it, saving everyone the hassle of tracking them down. It's also backwards compatible with all the other mods people have been using with it, so nothing should break when you update.
The mod now supports all versions of Skyrim Special Edition, from 1.5 to the latest version and automatically adjusts to fit different monitor aspect ratios, including 32:9, 21:9, and 4:3. The rest of the changes look like minor tweaks and bug fixes to me, but I'm sure someone out there will see things like "Fixed the missing icon for Firewood" and jump out of their chair.
The most promising news from this update is that SkyUI's source code has now been uploaded to GitHub so it can be "updated for many years to come." This means future updates and bug fixes won't require their own mods. Anyone who wants to help out with the project can now directly submit their contributions and have them implemented into the main mod. In other words, SkyUI won't disappear for nine years again as long as there are people willing to work on it.
>> The article doesn’t have any media.

Fallout megamod maker says there were 'moments of uncertainty' about how okay Bethesda was with it, but gives props to Todd for staying cool about the whole thing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-megamod-maker-says-there-were-moments-of-uncertainty-about-how-okay-bethesda-was-with-it-but-gives-props-to-todd-for-staying-cool-about-the-whole-thing/
You might have read—on some website called PC Gamer dot com—that Fallout 4 megamod Fallout: London (FOLON) is a genuinely impressive modding achievement, cramming a "DLC-sized" Brit-Fallout expansion into Bethesda's 2015 RPG. It's also the biggest singleplayer Fallout release we've had in over a decade.
But there were moments during development that project lead Dean "Prilladog" Carter and his team worried FOLON might not make it out the door. In a chat in the latest Edge magazine, Carter recalled "moments of uncertainty" during FOLON's five-year development when the devs worried that Bethesda might not be all that happy with a humungo-mod like theirs using the Fallout setting and branding.

GAMING NEWS

Since there are no DSOGaming articles to post in this section, I’ve moved the shortened articles from the third post here, saving me from doing another post and you for having (or not) to read it.

Someone already beat Marathon's pinnacle three-player Compiler boss solo, just to rub salt in the wound of everyone who didn't even see it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/someone-already-beat-marathons-pinnacle-three-player-compiler-boss-solo-just-to-rub-salt-in-the-wound-of-everyone-who-didnt-even-see-it/

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says Doom is the most influential game ever made, and now I really want to ask him whether he prefers the chainsaw or the BFG
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-says-doom-is-the-most-influential-game-ever-made-and-now-i-really-want-to-ask-him-whether-he-prefers-the-chainsaw-or-the-bfg/

Call of Duty veteran's new studio, which was just announced in 2025, is being closed by Sony
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/call-of-duty-veterans-new-studio-which-was-just-announced-in-2025-is-reportedly-being-closed-by-sony/
>> shikamaru317 made a thread about this new closure

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 director defends DLSS 5: 'No way haters will stop this'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-director-defends-dlss-5-no-way-haters-will-stop-this/

Wednesday gaming news, part two:

Hello Kitty Island Adventure has announced its second DLC, adding one of Sanrio's most colourful characters, a customisable cafe, and over 90 quests
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/hello-kitty-island-adventure-has-announced-its-second-dlc-adding-one-of-sanrios-most-colourful-characters-a-customisable-cafe-and-over-90-quests/
Hello Kitty Island Adventure is set to receive its second DLC next month, and with an all new trailer we've had a little look at what exactly is in store. Called City Town, the DLC will whisk us away from Friendship Island to a bright, new location where we get to build a town from the ground up.

Epic is ending 3 Fortnite game modes following its latest round of layoffs: 'We failed to build something awesome enough to attract and retain a large player base'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/epic-is-ending-3-fortnite-game-modes-following-its-latest-round-of-layoffs-we-failed-to-build-something-awesome-enough-to-attract-and-retain-a-large-player-base/
Alongside the layoff of more than 1,000 employees announced earlier today, Epic is also ending a trio of Fortnite modes—Rocket Racing, Ballistic, and Festival Battle Stage—and removing the racing games Horizon Chase and Horizon Chase Turbo from sale.
The Fortnite modes are being removed because, Epic said, "we've built a lot of Fortnite modes, and in some cases we failed to build something awesome enough to attract and retain a large player base."
>> And Sweeney went to Twitter to comment about the layoffs, and he posted that “In the coming days, employers will see a stream of resumes of once-in-a-lifetime quality folks." (link).

Fortnite's new Peak skin costs almost 3 times as much as the indie game it's based on: 'That's actually a slap in the face to the Peak developers'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/fortnites-new-peak-skin-costs-almost-3-times-as-much-as-the-indie-game-its-based-on-thats-actually-a-slap-in-the-face-to-the-peak-developers/
Friendslop's officially made its way to Fortnite, as physics-based climbing 'sim' Peak now has a set of skins in Epic's battle royale. That should be music to my ears, as Peak's cheery scouts are impossible to hate—just look at their little faces! While they're slightly less cute in Fortnite's style, in large part down to them being taller now, it's not the design players are having problems with.
Crunch the numbers as one Twitter user did, and Fortnite's customisable Peak skin costs almost three-times as much as the original game. A Scout skin will set you back 2,000 V-Bucks, which is equivalent to $22.40 (or just $22.99 with the 2,400 V-Buck pack). That's worth 2.8 copies of Peak. In other words, you could buy the game for yourself and a friend and a half, and have a merry old time climbing a mountain together. And yes, that's just the cost of a single skin, not including the backpack, pickaxe, or wrap.
>> Absolutely disgusting.

Even after ZA/UM's messy breakup, the writing team still has a cadre of sad communists—but you won't have to play Zero Parades as one if you don't want to
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/even-after-za-ums-messy-breakup-the-writing-team-still-has-a-cadre-of-sad-communists-but-you-wont-have-to-play-zero-parades-as-one-if-you-dont-want-to/
Disco Elysium is, and you know I mean this as a compliment, perhaps the most commie goddamn game I've ever played. The melancholy Marxism comes off it in waves, and no wonder: so many of its now-departed writers were some flavour of radical, with lead writer Robert Kurvitz describing aspects of the game's story as "essentially Soviet".
But Kurvitz, along with a lot of Disco Elysium's other foundational creatives, exited ZA/UM spectacularly in 2022, so you gotta wonder: will the studio's next game, Zero Parades—which also talks a lot about communism—have the same ideological bones? Are there still mournful commies at ZA/UM? When our Wes Fenlon asked at this year's GDC, writer Honey Watson's answer was immediate and emphatic: "Yes!"

There's a new Payday game coming later this year, and it's VR
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/vr/theres-a-new-payday-game-coming-later-this-year-and-its-vr/
Starbreeze has something new cooking on the Payday front and, well, it's a VR game—Payday: Aces High, a co-op heist game like the others in the series, but "built specifically for virtual reality, bringing the planning, teamwork and signature chaos of a Payday heist to a fully immersive format."

After feedback that Death Stranding was 'too slow,' Kojima wanted more players to see Death Stranding 2 all the way through to the end
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-feedback-that-death-stranding-was-too-slow-kojima-wanted-more-players-to-see-death-stranding-2-all-the-way-through-to-the-end/
When Kojima Productions set out to develop Death Stranding 2, writer and director Hideo Kojima gave his team a clear goal: Keep people playing all the way through this time.
"Kojima wanted more people to enjoy the game all the way to the end. This was an order he provided," said lead level designer Hiroaki Yoshiike, in a recent interview with PC Gamer.
>> Bonus article: the wife of one of the developers had a strong reaction to the first big plot twist (link).

The Forza Horizon 6 system requirements are in and it's good news for older PCs and handhelds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/the-forza-horizon-6-system-requirements-are-in-and-its-good-news-for-older-pcs-and-handhelds/
Forza isn't known for being particularly difficult to run on PC, but you never know these days. So it's a relief to find that the Forza Horizon 6 system requirements are pretty light for a reportedly stable 60 fps.
>> Nvidia has also gone and said that the game will support DLSS 4,5, among other things (link).

Tekken 8 devs promise better after latest patch, but fans are in full doom mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/tekken-8-devs-promise-better-after-latest-patch-but-fans-are-in-full-doom-mode/
Tekken 8 didn't have a very good year in 2025, and it's with a heavy heart that I must report that it certainly doesn't look like matters have improved any. Back in February, our resident fighting game expert Mollie Taylor wrote: "I'm genuinely excited to see what direction Tekken 8 is going to take with its third season, while also desperately hoping that we're not staring down the barrel of another Season 2 misstep."
Unfortunately, it now looks like we were in fact staring down the barrel of another Season 2 misstep. Just taking a look at responses to the Season 3 balance patch notes on the game's subreddit reveals an avalanche of complaints from players who feel like Bandai Namco hasn't done diddly squat to smooth things out.

Anybody have Steam Spring Sale recommendations? Not looking to spend more than $10USD ideally, though if there’s a really good deal on a really good game, then I may bite.

We can only hope!

Well, I signed up, let's see if I get selected, and if it is any good.