It’s time for the Friday gaming news, with all the details from yesterday’s Xbox event:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

The Humble Store presents the House of Cards: Sale, with games up to 95% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/house-of-cards/

Fanatical has a couple of deals:

• 2K Games puts its titles on sale with up to 91% discounts during 12 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/2k-games
• The War Commander Bundle takes a page from Humble Bundle and has up to 13 items to grab (6 games, 6 DLCs and 1 coupon( during the next 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/war-commander-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA releases GeForce 596.02 hotfix driver, second this month
https://videocardz.com/pixel/nvidia-releases-geforce-596-02-hotfix-driver-second-this-month
GeForce Hotfix Display Driver version 596.02 is based on our latest Game Ready Driver 595.97.
This hotfix addresses the following

• [Arknights: Endfield] Stutter may be observed in during gameplay [5950402]

>> It was released a couple days ago, but I forgot to post it until now.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

GTA 5 Mod Transforms Rockford Hills Into a Realistic Beverly Hills
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/gta-5-mod-transforms-rockford-hills-into-a-realistic-beverly-hills/
Modder ‘Adnr Studio’ has released a new cool mod for Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced that transforms Rockford Hills into Beverly Hills. This means that all branding, placements, designs, and structures are based on real-life locations corresponding to the places.
Going into more details, this mod has the iconic Beverly Hills sign, as well as Rodeo Drive shops. It also comes with multiple real-life billboards, as well as real-life shops on the way to Santa Monica.
Moreover, the mod will allow players to visit and explore the Beverly Hilton hotel, as it includes an enterable lobby. You can also find the Ferrari Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills BMW, and Heroes Motors. Plus, you can visit and explore the Subway restaurant and the LA Fitness.
All in all, this is a cool mod that some of our GTA 5 fans will find interesting. You can go ahead and download the mod from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find a gameplay video for it. This video will give you a glimpse at what you can expect from it. So, be sure to watch it.

GAMING NEWS

A new Serious Sam game just got announced, but it’s not what fans expected
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/a-new-serious-sam-game-just-got-announced-but-its-not-what-fans-expected/
Devolver Digital has announced a new Serious Sam game, called Serious Sam: Shatterverse. However, this isn’t what fans would expect, as it will not be a part of the main series. Instead, we’re looking at a co-op roguelite FPS for 1-5 players.

Sudden Strike 5 releases on April 23rd
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sudden-strike-5-releases-on-april-23rd/
Kalypso Media and Kite Games have revealed that Sudden Strike 5, the latest entry in the WWII real-time tactics series, will be released on April 23rd. To celebrate this announcement, the teams have also shared a new dev diary that you can find below.

Alien Deathstorm is a new sci-fi action horror FPS from Rebellion
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/alien-deathstorm-is-a-new-sci-fi-action-horror-fps-from-rebellion/
Rebellion has announced a new sci-fi action horror FPS, called Alien Deathstorm. This new action horror FPS will be coming to PC in 2027, and you can find below its debut gameplay trailer.
>> It’s not a game in the Aliens franchise.

First gameplay for Ryu Ga Gotoku’s STRANGER THAN HEAVEN
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-for-ryu-ga-gotokus-stranger-than-heaven/
Ryu Ga Gotoku has shared the first proper gameplay trailer for its new game, STRANGER THAN HEAVEN. Moreover, the team announced that it will hold a full reveal event on May 6th at 4:00 pm PDT | May 7 at 12:00 am BST.

Mass Effect-like The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Gets New Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/mass-effect-like-the-expanse-osiris-reborn-gets-new-gameplay-trailer/
Owlcat Games has released a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming Mass Effect-like game, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Moreover, the company revealed that the game will come out on PC in Spring 2027.
>> While the game has a “Spring 2027” release window, they’ll launch a Beta this April 22 for those that pre-order the expensive editions of the game (link); Also, PCGamer has an article about the companions you’ll fight along (link).

Hunter: The Reckoning – Deathwish has been officially announced
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hunter-the-reckoning-deathwish-has-been-officially-announced/
Earlier this month, we reported on a new game from the devs behind Robocop: Rogue City. And today, NACON and Teyon have officially announced this new game, which is called Hunter: The Reckoning – Deathwish.

Resident Evil Requiem March 27 Update Released – Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/resident-evil-requiem-march-27-update-released-patch-notes/
Capcom has just released the March 27th Title Update for Resident Evil Requiem and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new patch brings to the table.

Friday gaming news, part two:

Stalker 2's first major story expansion is coming this summer with two new regions and 'dozens of hours of gameplay'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/stalker-2s-first-major-story-expansion-is-coming-this-summer-with-two-new-regions-and-dozens-of-hours-of-gameplay/
More than a year after the launch of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the first official story expansion has been revealed as Cost of Hope, "a new chapter of a well-known conflict" between Duty and Freedom, two of the Exclusion Zone's most powerful factions.

Pragmata's devs created human-made AI slop to mimic the 'uncanny feel' of LLM art
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/pragmatas-devs-created-human-made-ai-slop-to-mimic-the-uncanny-feel-of-llm-art/
The premise of Pragmata may seem utterly unfathomable right now so I'll try and break it down for you: an evil AI takes over a lunar research station, and being evil, it tries to eradicate our human protagonist Hugh and his android companion Diana. Ok, that's actually pretty fathomable right now.
Funnily enough, the hardest part of bringing an evil AI to life was mimicking what the world it inhabited would actually look like. "It mirrors reality, but its unique appeal comes from the setting errors and how they feel out of place, such as taxis sinking into floors, or buses sprouting from walls," producer Naoto Oyama says in an interview with 4Gamer (via Automaton). "Although the premise is that it generated by AI, actually, our human developers painstakingly worked to incorporate mechanisms that express this AI-like uncanny feel.”

Baldur's Gate 3 gets a new hotfix to fix the old hotfix that fixed corrupted saves but started causing crashes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldurs-gate-3-gets-a-new-hotfix-to-fix-the-old-hotfix-that-fixed-corrupted-saves-but-started-causing-crashes/
Back in February, Larian rolled out a small update for Baldur's Gate 3 that aimed to fix a few crashes, technical issues, and in particular, corrupted saves. And it worked! Except, well, it apparently also broke a few things along the way. So you know what that means: A new hotfix to fix the old hotfix.

Extraction shooter Sand delayed from March as Ukrainian developer cites 'a difficult few months' with 'severe power outages and air alert disruptions'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/extraction-shooter-sand-delayed-from-march-as-ukrainian-developer-cites-a-difficult-few-months-with-severe-power-outages-and-air-alert-disruptions/
Sand: Raiders of Sophie, the PvPvE extraction shooter where you build and drive huge stompy mechanical bases around on a desert planet, "will not be releasing this March" as planned, developer Hologryph announced today.
"It’s been a difficult few months for us here in Ukraine," the developer wrote in a Steam post, "with frequent severe power outages and air alert disruptions causing some major complications and resulting in a lot of key features that we had hoped to have finalised and implemented at this stage being behind schedule."

There are two different Jesus sims launching within a week of each other
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/there-are-two-different-jesus-sims-launching-within-a-week-of-each-other/
We've seen it happen plenty in Hollywood: two movies released at almost the same time about the same thing. Armageddon and Deep Impact in 1998, The Prestige and The Illusionist in 2006, Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down in 2013, just to name a few.
Games aren't immune to this trend either, I guess: a Jesus simulator called Jesus Simulator launched today, just a week before another Jesus simulator called I Am Jesus Christ launches next week on April 2. If you want to play a game where you're Jesus, you've been double-blessed just in time for Easter. Hallelujah!
>> Blasphemy!

Hades 2 trailer teases a new steamy scene that will be added with 'bonus content and quality-of-life improvements' in an update next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/hades-2-trailer-teases-a-new-steamy-scene-that-will-be-added-with-bonus-content-and-quality-of-life-improvements-in-an-update-next-month/
Supergiant isn't done with Hades 2 yet. In a surprisingly spicy new trailer for the action RPG's console release, eagle-eyed fans caught a glimpse of a scene they've never seen before.

V Rising studio is working on a new game, and it sounds like it's got teeth: 'The odyssey of the Vampire continues'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/v-rising-studio-is-working-on-a-new-game-and-it-sounds-like-its-got-teeth-the-odyssey-of-the-vampire-continues/
It's the end of the line for the excellent vampire survival game V Rising: Not quite two years after release, developer Stunlock Studios says "the journey to Dracula is a complete one as it stands," and no further content updates are planned. The good news is that it's working on something new instead, set in the same game world, that will be the studio's "most ambitious project yet."

In its first major visual overhaul ever, RPG Maker will soon let you make games in the style of Octopath Traveler
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/in-its-first-major-visual-overhaul-ever-rpg-maker-will-soon-let-you-make-games-in-the-style-of-octopath-traveler/
Browse through Steam's unfiltered list of new games and you'll encounter at least one or two games made in RPG Maker every week. Few of these projects reach the popularity of something like Yume Nikki or Omori, and I'm guessing many are never played at all. But I love that a relatively simple toolset is still in such active use.
(...)
The RPG Maker "look" is about to undergo a pretty seismic shift, though: 2.5D is on the way.
Gotcha Gotcha Games teased as much yesterday, and if you love the style popularised by Octopath Traveler, but also used in other modern Square Enix RPGs like Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake or Star Ocean: The Second Story R, then you may feel like a pig in shit once this drops at some unspecified date in the future.

'There are no leaks', says Stardew Valley creator, taking a hammer to the rumour mill
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/there-are-no-leaks-says-stardew-valley-creator-taking-a-hammer-to-the-rumour-mill/
Stardew Valley 1.7 is a hotly anticipated patch to a game, and for good reason—it's one of the biggest indie sensations of the past decade. Riling up the anticipation is the fact that it usually takes years for big updates like this to drop, with the last major version releasing in 2024.
As such, the inescapable tide of supposed leaks has swept through the internet—which the game's creator, Eric Barone, is very keen to put a blunt full stop to: "Any claims that there are "'leaks' of 1.7 content are fake. There are no leaks," he wrote on X. Welp, there you go then.

All Genshin Impact 6.5 livestream codes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/genshin-impact-codes-6-5-livestream/
The Genshin Impact 6.5 livestream codes are here. This version, also known as Luna 6, is the sixth major update since we arrived in Nod-Krai—honestly, I thought this region would just be an interlude, but we've spent quite some time in this area of Snezhnaya. If you're new to all this, miHoYo likes to run a livestream for each of its games every six weeks.

'We want more for them': Arc Raiders' lead dev reassures players that balance and end-game content are a top priority
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/we-want-more-for-them-arc-raiders-lead-dev-reassures-players-that-balance-and-end-game-content-are-a-top-priority/
One of the biggest surprises of last year was the enormous success of the launch of Arc Raiders. It surpassed 12 million players by January, turned out to have Nexon's most successful launch ever, and enjoyed enough concurrent players to rival even the publisher's the biggest MMO's. It's been a spectacular ride so far. That is, with a few caveats.
(...)
"Balancing is always, not really a problem, but something we keep top of mind all the time," production director Caio Braga says in an interview with GamesRadar. "That is one thing. It's all new to us, the live environment with this amount of players. We've been trying to identify what are the most impactful updates we can give to players. There are a few things that we see that are more engaging and some others less engaging, and because we're not a huge team, optimizing for that impact is something that we are learning and trying to do better and better in every update."
>> And here’s an almost 20 minutes interview PCGamer did to the production director during GDC (link).

And now, the third part of the gaming news:

It's brutal out there: Deus Ex and Unreal composer says he's submitted 50 resumes and gotten one interview in the last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/its-brutal-out-there-deus-ex-and-unreal-composer-says-hes-submitted-50-resumes-and-gotten-one-interview-in-the-last-year/

Valve veteran slams Tim Sweeney and Epic Games for laying off 1000 people while making 'as much money as possible… and hey Tim, Gabe's better at that than you'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/valve-veteran-slams-tim-sweeney-and-epic-games-for-laying-off-1000-people-while-making-as-much-money-as-possible-and-hey-tim-gabes-better-at-that-than-you/

'Realtime-with-pause is not dead,' says lead designer of promising turn-based game Star Wars Zero Company
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/realtime-with-pause-is-not-dead-says-lead-designer-of-promising-turn-based-game-star-wars-zero-company/

Star Wars Zero Company's lead mission designer is eagerly waiting to watch all your all-astromech challenge runs: 'Granted, it might not be a very easy thing to do'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-companys-lead-mission-designer-is-eagerly-waiting-to-watch-all-your-all-astromech-challenge-runs-granted-it-might-not-be-a-very-easy-thing-to-do/

There's nothing 'euro' about 'eurojank,' says Stalker dev—after all, what are some of the 2000s' best RPGs if not beautiful all-American jankfests?
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-development/theres-nothing-euro-about-eurojank-says-stalker-dev-after-all-what-are-some-of-the-2000s-best-rpgs-if-not-beautiful-all-american-jankfests/

Astarion's actor from Baldur's Gate 3 has dodged similar roles: 'Repetition breeds stagnation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/astarions-actor-from-baldurs-gate-3-has-dodged-similar-roles-repetition-breeds-stagnation/

This legendary Baldur's Gate 3 exploit has taken my latest solo Durge run to a new level of immersion and god-tier power
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/this-legendary-baldurs-gate-3-exploit-has-taken-my-latest-solo-durge-run-to-a-new-level-of-immersion-and-god-tier-power/

And now, the weekend deals at GOG and Steam

+GOG

• Here, the Spring Sale is still going on: https://www.gog.com/en/spring-sale

+Steam

• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage will have a 40% discount until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1902960/Lost_Records_Bloom__Rage/
• AI LIMIT will be 30% off until March 31: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2407270/AI_LIMIT/
• Jump Space , still in Early Access, gets a 20% discount until the 2nd of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1757300/Jump_Space/
• ARC Raiders goes on sale! It’s going to be 20% off until April 2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1808500/ARC_Raiders/
• Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure has a demo and a 70% discount that will last until the 2nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1550730/Ikonei_Island_An_Earthlock_Adventure/
• Kerbal Space Program will be 75% off until the same April 2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Program/
• The Dark Queen of Mortholme features a 40% discount that will last until the 5th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3587610/The_Dark_Queen_of_Mortholme/
• Crime Scene Cleaner is going to be 27% off until April, the 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1040200/Crime_Scene_Cleaner/
• And there are also Sales/Events:
  • Game Pavilion JP 2026 features numerous Japanese indies, bot halready released and upcoming ones. Only a few of them are on sale, tho: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45279210/sale/GamePavilion2026
  • VR Game Showcase mostly features upcoming titles, with only one title on sale, 10% off: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45128337/sale/VRGamesShowcaseMarch2026
  • PAX East 2026 has upcoming titles, a few demos and a handfull of deals: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38312102/sale/PAXEast2026
  • The Arkane Studio Sale has games on sale between 50 and 80% off and will last until the 2nd of April: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Arkane2026
  • Publisher Secret Mode celebrates its annivesrary showing its upcoming titles and putting its released games on sale with up to 80% discounts until the 9th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/secretmodepublishersale2026

That’s all folks! Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

It's rather funny actually I bought one of these 3 years ago for £329 and it came with a £50 cashback offer so that new price is crazy..

Also I saw in my order history I bought a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB NVMe for £66 2.5 years ago which is still my boot drive and man am I glad I don't need to buy any PC parts for a long time.

I long for the dawn of the era of cheap, abundant compute.

I never even considered that. You may be on to somethng. If the FSR4 INT leak didn't happen, they'd probably hide behind the PS5 Pro's superior INT 8 performance. The Pro is around 300 TOPS and the 7900XTX is 123 TOPS. The leak makes that BS defense moot.

Good. Users ned to put them under pressure to force them to make it official.

I remember when consoles got cheaper over time, not more expensive!

I know it's hard to believe, but something very similar happened during the last Black Friday. There was a store, called Aussar, that got the 5060 for I think 40€.

Believe it or not, my first reaction was to see if there was a way to contact the store to let them know of their mistake. Yep, I'm that kind of dumb. There was none that I could see outside of social media, which I don't have, but I don't think it mattered much because when I checked again, the card was out of stock.

My own theory goes in another direction, with AMD doing the ground work on FSR4 on Int8 to support PS4/Xbox, while leaving the final touches to each company, but that as never supposed to be released for PC.

It's just that they did that dumb/imcompetent move of making it open to download from Github and well, by then the cat was out of the bag. That's why they've barely acknowledged its existance since then.

I swear that I posted this yesterday, but it's gone so, here it goes again:

First of all: Dear God! That must have taken a ton of work! You're amazing.

Having played those titles, I can say that I liked them all, and some surprised me, as I didn't expect the mto be any good.

One thing I disagree with you, tho. I don't think Cat Quest is a violent game or, at the very least, not more violent than you typical Zelda.

I also caved and bought it.

Can someone explain how a 2017 port of a Wii game is still costs that much? I'd honestly wait for it to go lowe rthan that to grab it. And it has happened before.