System integrator recalls 18,230 PSUs over missing warning label

https://videocardz.com/newz/system-integrator-recalls-18230-psus-over-missing-warning-label

Nintendo Switch spotted running Steam Linux ARM64 beta as Proton 11.0 ARM64 surfaces

https://videocardz.com/newz/nintendo-switch-spotted-running-steam-linux-arm64-beta-as-proton-11-0-arm64-surfaces

Intel launches Core 7 245HX, first non-Ultra Arrow Lake-HX part

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-launches-core-7-245hx-first-non-ultra-arrow-lake-hx-part

Valve Proton 11.0 Beta 1 released, adds support for X-Plane 12, Breath of Fire IV and more

https://videocardz.com/newz/valve-proton-11-0-beta-1-released-adds-support-for-x-plane-12-breath-of-fire-iv-and-more

GeForce RTX 3060 12GB reportedly returns in June as RTX 5050 9GB slips

https://videocardz.com/newz/geforce-rtx-3060-12gb-reportedly-returns-in-june-as-rtx-5050-9gb-slips

Xbox Series Expansion Cards can be reused as PC storage with a CFexpress adapter

https://videocardz.com/newz/xbox-series-expansion-cards-can-be-reused-as-pc-storage-with-a-cfexpress-adapter

GIGABYTE also wants to protect 12V-2×6 GPUs from burning with T-Guard

https://videocardz.com/newz/gigabyte-also-wants-to-protect-12v-2x6-gpus-from-burning-with-t-guard

Intel Foundry Lands a Samsung Veteran With 30 Years of Chip Experience, Betting He Can Fill Its Customer Gap

https://wccftech.com/intel-foundry-lands-a-samsung-veteran-with-30-years-of-chip-experience-betting-he-can-fill-its-customer-gap/

PlayStation 6’s 10x Ray Tracing Performance Claim Is Being Misread; Real-World FPS Gain Closer to 3x, Says Insider

https://wccftech.com/playstation-6s-10x-ray-tracing-fps-gain-3x/

Take it with salt as always

Apple Could Unveil Its Sub-1nm Chips In A Few Years, As TSMC Said To Fire Up Trial Production In 2029

https://wccftech.com/first-apple-sub-1nm-chip-arriving-in-few-years-tsmc-2029-trial-production-target/

Intel’s PC Business Survival Hinges on 18A As Shortages Drive AMD & Intel CPU Costs Up By 15%

https://wccftech.com/intel-pc-business-survival-hinges-on-18a-shortages-drive-amd-intel-cpu-costs-up/

AMD’s Instinct MI450 Reportedly Secures A Major AI Customer

https://wccftech.com/amd-instinct-mi450-secures-major-ai-customer-win/

UMC Joins a Global Wave of Chipmakers Hiking Wafer Prices, Leaving Clients with Few Places Left to Turn

https://wccftech.com/umc-increases-wafer-prices-in-2h-2026/

Legendary Qualcomm, Apple, and Nuvia alumni form new CPU startup — Nuvacore promises to 'rewrite the rules of silicon'

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/legendary-qualcomm-apple-and-nuvia-alumni-form-new-cpu-startup-nuvacore-promises-to-rewrite-the-rules-of-silicon

I present you the Friday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

The Humble Store has three new sales:

• CAPCOM PROMOS features games with up to 85% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/capcom-lightspeed-savings/
• Light-Speed Savings Sale has games up to 95% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/misc-lightspeed-savings/
• Team17 April Sale has games with up to 90% discounts and will last 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/team17-april-sale/

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a new bundle:

• The new Star Deal is Kingdom Come Deliverance II Royal Edition , 57% off during 48 hours or they run out of keys: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/kingdom-come-deliverance-ii-royal-edition
• BYO Survival Horror Bundle features 20 games for your 3+, 5+ or 7+ game bundles, and it will last 34 days : https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-survival-horror-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.8724 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-8724

HIGHLIGHTS

• Launch driver for Intel Core Series 3 with built-in Intel GPUs (Codename Wildcat Lake).
• Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc B-series, A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:
  • Pragmata

FIXED ISSUES
Intel Core Ultra Series 3 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Crimson Desert (DX12) may exhibit flickering corruption on plants during gameplay.
• No Man’s Sky (VK) may exhibit corruptions on certain terrains during gameplay.
• Adobe Premiere Pro may experience an application crash when exporting HEVC codec based media on Microsoft Windows OS 26200.7840 or later

Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:

• Crimson Desert (DX12) may exhibit flickering corruption on plants during gameplay.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• No Man’s Sky (VK) may exhibit corruptions on certain terrains during gameplay

>> It’s a Beta driver.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

BioShock Remastered Got a Complete Gameplay Overhaul Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/bioshock-remastered-got-a-complete-gameplay-overhaul-mod/
The VoidCrownStudios has released a complete gameplay overhaul mod for the remaster of the first BioShock game, called The War In Rapture. This mod is for those who have already finished this classic BioShock game and want a new challenge. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
The War In Rapture increases Spawn Rates by two, five or ten times. Moreover, it reworks the game’s economy, and it overhauls the AI behavior of all enemies. Plus, it overhauls the game’s weapons.
The result is a fresh experience for both new and returning players. It’s a cool mod for those who have not recently played BioShock Remastered. By using it, you’ll get a somewhat different experience from the one you originally had. Yes, the story will remain the same, but this is a cool gameplay mod to use in your second or third playthrough.
Those interested can download the mod from this link. Below, you can also find a trailer for it. This trailer highlights its key features. So, be sure to watch it if you don’t feel like downloading it.
It’s also worth noting that BioShock Remastered has already received a fan-made HD Texture Pack. This 5GB pack overhauls over 2300 textures. In my opinion, this is a must-have mod as it can greatly enhance the game’s visuals. It should also be compatible with this gameplay mod.

Through Fire and War Is a New Morrowind-Inspired Quest Mod for Skyrim
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/through-fire-and-war-is-a-new-morrowind-inspired-quest-mod-for-skyrim/
Now here is something cool for our Skyrim fans. Modder ‘BaloneyPony’ has just released a Morrowind- inspired quest mod for Skyrim Special Edition, called Through Fire and War. So, let’s see what this new mod is all about.
Through Fire and War comes with a short but memorable dungeon with custom assets and a new fully voiced quest with several different branches and endings. Players will discover the fate of the Nerevarine, smoke Skooma, talk to cats, meet the Tribunal, travel to the Undercity of Velothid, and defeat Dagoth Ur.
It’s also worth noting that the mod has several Morrowind artifacts, as well as several Nerevarine concepts from various sources. Not only that, but it will offer you the ability to be recognized as the Nerevarine.
All in all, this is a cool quest mod that most Morrowind and Skyrim fans will like. If you are one of them, you can go ahead and download it from this link. Do note that you’ll also need two other mods. Otherwise, Through Fire and War will not work. These mods are Lorekeeper – A Quest Mod Framework and HDT-SMP.
>> The article has an almost 40 minutes video.

Hero modder gives all of Skyrim's jarls unique sitting poses on their fancy thrones
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/hero-modder-gives-all-of-skyrims-jarls-unique-sitting-poses-on-their-fancy-thrones/
Every time I think Skyrim modders can't show me any more, they deliver something new. Take a bow daubuoi, whose Unique Jarl Throne Sitting Animation mod fixes a problem I'd honestly never even noticed: in vanilla Skyrim, you see, there is one throne-sitting animation that is used for all jarls.
Quick jargon reminder: the jarls are the ones in charge of the nine holds in Skyrim, governing their cities and answerable only to the High King. They're the mini-kings and queens of Skyrim, in other words, and each have their own fiefdom.
And "every jarl now has a unique throne sitting animation reflecting their personality, authority, and the type of throne they occupy, replacing the single generic pose from vanilla."
The one exception to this is the character Kraldar, a Nord who can become jarl of Winterhold, who keeps the vanilla version as a unique animation "since I feel it suits him quite well."
I have to be honest here and say I can't quite recall the differences in personality between various jarls, except that Korir is a whiny douchebag. But a quick flick through the mod's new poses shows that daubuoi clearly has very firm ideas on how they would comport themselves, and the new poses definitely add a new layer of personality.
>> Sadly, the article doesn’t have any media of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Metro 2039 Is Coming to PC in Winter 2026 + First Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/metro-2039-is-coming-to-pc-in-winter-2026-first-screenshots/
Deep Silver has announced that Metro 2039 will be released in Winter 2026. To celebrate this announcement, the team has shared the promised reveal trailer, as well as the game’s first screenshots.

Friday gaming news, part two:

Battlefield 6 enters its 'we've heard your feedback' era: 7 more maps are coming in 2026, including fan-favorite Wake Island
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-enters-its-weve-heard-your-feedback-era-7-more-maps-are-coming-in-2026-including-fan-favorite-wake-island/
Battlefield 6 was a hit. Millions of folks played it, enjoyed it, and complained about its shortcomings. Six months and two unimpressive seasons later, Battlefield 6 has firmly fallen out of the limelight. DICE finally appears serious about changing that, and it's starting by tackling the single biggest complaints Battlefield 6 fans had about it at launch: maps are too small, too cramped, and lack a certain sea breeze.
In an unexpected move, DICE has shared an extended Battlefield 6 roadmap that encompasses the rest of 2026, and the headlining message is maps, maps, and more maps.
>> The game is also getting a new or reworked (not sure) server browser (link).

Overwatch Season 2 brings some big hero changes, but the most OP has to be Sierra's carpet-bombing ultimate
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-season-2-brings-some-big-hero-changes-but-the-most-op-has-to-be-sierras-carpet-bombing-ultimate/
Overwatch Season 2: Summit is well underway, with a new DPS hero joining the roster, a fresh battle pass, and of course a whole host of patch notes and hero updates. There's been some big nerfs and buffs, but one of the heroes to come off the strongest is the latest arrival Sierra.

Fortnite Festival now lets you hit the skins for real with new MIDI drum kit compatibility
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/fortnite-festival-now-lets-you-hit-the-skins-for-real-with-new-midi-drum-kit-compatibility/
I'm known to spend much of my time in any battle royale game hiding in a bush, thinking I'm-oh-so-clever right up until another player puts one right between my polygons. As such, there's a wealth of content my cowardly self hasn't yet gotten to in Epic's all-encompassing headline act, but Fortnite Festival Season 14 promises nothing but hits.
Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey gets top billing, with two themed outfits, plus themed instruments and auras to unlock via the Emberlight Music Pass for Fortnite crew members. Laufey's jazz pop beats also feature as unlockable in-game Jam Tracks but neither that, nor the fact Laufey is taking over the spotlight from Chappell Roan last season, is what I want to talk about though.
What I want to talk about is how Fortnite Festival intends to give all those old Rock Band 4 drum kits a fresh lease of life, as Pro Drums now allows you to plug in the aforementioned peripheral, or a compatible MIDI drum kit. Given that Epic bought Rock Band and Guitar Hero developer Harmonix back in 2021, adding this functionality has perhaps been a long time coming.

Lana Del Rey surprise-drops the 007 First Light theme song, and I regret to inform you that it is not great
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/lana-del-rey-surprise-drops-the-007-first-light-theme-song-and-i-regret-to-inform-you-that-it-is-not-great/
One of the hallmarks of the James Bond film franchise are its theme songs, which are typically performed by a big-name artist or band. That's also true of IO Interactive's upcoming Bond game 007 First Light, which has served up a surprise release of its own very Bond-like theme song, First Light, performed by popular recording artist Lana Del Rey.

Alan Wake heads to Phasmophobia next month in a new limited-time event, because we all know writers love a deadline
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/alan-wake-heads-to-phasmophobia-next-month-in-a-new-limited-time-event-because-we-all-know-writers-love-a-deadline/
Phasmophobia has rotated through the same handful of seasonal celebrations for years now, but that schedule will see a major shake-up soon. As part of the Twitch Galaxies Showcase, Kinetic Games announced its first-ever collaboration event with another game, Alan Wake 2. Seems fitting enough, Mr. Scratch definitely fits the Demon profile.

Shameless Palworld imitator Pickmos removed from Steam after publisher 'officially intervenes' in development: 'We will be supervising the Pickmos team'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/shameless-palworld-imitator-pickmos-removed-from-steam-after-publisher-officially-intervenes-in-development-we-will-be-supervising-the-pickmos-team/
Just a couple days after Palworld imitator Pickmon changed its title to Pickmos "to better align with our brand identity," the whole thing has been removed from Steam, and it sounds like developer PocketGame may have had its wrist slightly slapped in the process.
Ironically, the apparent rebuke comes from NetworkGo, the publisher of Pickmos, who in a message on X rather oddly appeared to suggest that this whole mess is PocketGames' fault.

Fortune's Run resumes development following creator's prison release: 'The parole board reviewed my case and instantly kicked my ass out of jail'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/fortunes-run-resumes-development-following-creators-prison-release-the-parole-board-reviewed-my-case-and-instantly-kicked-my-ass-out-of-jail/
Between 2022 and 2024 PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield wrote about Fortune's Run six times. "It's like the Jedi Knight 4 we never got," he wrote in September 2022 about the stylish immersive sim which, like Gloomwood, doubles as an impactful boomer shooter and even has a basketball minigame. It was definitely among the most interesting early access games on Steam for a while, but that abruptly ceased to be the case when its sole developer Dizzie went to jail.
(...)
Anyway, long story short: Dizzie is now out of jail, and development has resumed, but it's not exactly smooth sailing.

The classic Xenosaga series is finally making its PC debut, but don't get too excited because it's a 2004 mobile game port
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-classic-xenosaga-series-is-finally-making-its-pc-debut-but-dont-get-too-excited-because-its-a-2004-mobile-game-port/
Bear with me here: the Xenosaga JRPG series belongs to the wider Xeno series, which also includes the lately-very-popular Xenoblade Chronicles games. The Xenosaga trilogy originally released for PlayStation 2, and the first two games were also ported to Nintendo DS.
You don't need to be a JRPG or Monolith Soft fanatic to be aware of those classic PS2 JRPGs, but you'd be forgiven for not knowing Xenosaga: Pied Piper exists. It released exclusively for Vodafone mobile phones in 2004 (before the smartphone era) and not only that, it was never released outside of Japan. Guess which Xenosaga game is coming to PC, then?
>> It’s fromn that G-MODE publisher that puts its games on sale yesterday.

And here’s part three of the gaming news:

An oldie but a goodie: John Carmack once told us Quake Arena 'was my favourite id Software game… always the one that I looked at as a pure game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/john-carmack-says-quake-arena-was-my-favourite-id-software-game-always-the-one-that-i-looked-at-as-a-pure-game/

Kingdom Come 2 director welcomes LGBT award nomination, then spends around 175 words explaining that it doesn't make him 'Woke'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-2-director-welcomes-lgbt-award-nomination-then-spends-around-175-words-explaining-that-it-doesnt-make-it-woke/

Marathon players are using new Mercy Kits to murder people twice: It's already been branded the 'most troll-friendly item imaginable'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/marathon-players-are-using-new-mercy-kits-to-murder-people-twice-its-already-been-branded-the-most-troll-friendly-item-imaginable/

This is not a drill: All-timer weirdo game Deadly Premonition now playable on Linux as of Valve's most recent Proton beta, plus 17 others and your EA library (until EA breaks it again) NEWS-4
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/this-is-not-a-drill-all-timer-weirdo-game-deadly-premonition-now-playable-on-linux-as-of-valves-most-recent-proton-beta-plus-17-others-and-your-ea-library-until-ea-breaks-it-again/

And these are the weekend deals at Steam:

+Steam

• Hello Kitty Island Adventure will be 40% off until the 23rd of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2495100/Hello_Kitty_Island_Adventure/
• Roots of Pacha gets a 50% discount until April 27: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245560/Roots_of_Pacha/
• WWE 2K26 is going to be 20% off until the 30th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3717070/WWE_2K26/
• Travellers Rest , still in Early Access, features a 33% discount that will last until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1139980/Travellers_Rest/
• Cat Quest: The Fur-tastic Trilogy is 65% off until April, the 30th. The individual games are also on sale, between 50 and 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/41962/Cat_Quest_The_Furtastic_Trilogy/
• Orcs Must Die! 3 will have a 75% discount until the same 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1522820/Orcs_Must_Die_3/
• There are 12 new sales/events, too many to list them. To learn more about them, click here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/collection/sales/

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

https://videocardz.com/newz/xbox-game-pass-leak-suggests-new-tier-with-capped-cloud-gaming-hours

I do not know if this will be for PC users too, but yeah; what a load of crap.

I think I fully support this. My main issue with subscription services in general is that for my usage, they simply don't make sense at all. Gaming is the only subscription service I feel like I might be getting enough value for my money, depending on what's available and where exactly my interests lie. In general, streaming movies, series, music etc. just isn't something I would do enough to warrant paying anything even close to the current prices they're asking. Oh, and notably that includes online gaming on consoles too, so I don't do it at all due to the prices.

I've been yearning for usage-based pricing, perhaps based on tiers instead of paying by the hour, because of this. If this leak is true and the limit is e.g. 100 hours per month, that's over 3 hours a day on average. I suspect that should be enough for most of us (I mean, most of us have a job, right?), and as long as exceeding the limit doesn't cause excessive costs, it sounds perfectly reasonable to me. If the alternative is prices going up even further, then yes, I 100% support setting limits so the customers that utilize their subscription less don't end up effectively subsidizing those that play an insane amount.

If loads of people share that viewpoint on value defined by play time, then all current tiers are arguably a rip off; because you do not want to pay for the time you have not used for it. But do people not think GeForce is too expensive?

As far as I'm concerned, you don't need to utilize all the time you can to get your money's worth, but the amount of value I'd get from subscription services is just so low that paying for them at all doesn't make sense to me. Online play on consoles is the one I'd be tempted to at least try sometimes, but there's a huge gap between trying it out for maybe a few hours and paying, let's see, 9€ for a month. Maybe I'd consider if I was sure I'd play for at least 10-20 hours and it was a really, really interesting game, but even that seems like terrible value, considering it's a game I've already paid for.

I guess for Game Pass, the situation is somewhat different, because you actually don't need to purchase the game too, so you kind of get more value even if you spend fewer hours. I seriously considered Game Pass for Oblivion Remastered last year, but the price just wasn't good enough, considering I want to eventually buy the game anyway. At this point, that ship has sailed regardless - I'll just buy the game eventually, once its price is low enough.

I don't know how people feel about GeForce NOW or how much it costs. I generally like to own the games I play, and like I said, I'm not aware of any interesting services with pricing models that suit my needs anyway, so I don't really follow them too closely.

I find that GeForce NOW is really good service, if you absolutely need to play latest game with all the bells and whistles.

For example, if I was interested in Pragmata (I'm not) and wanted to play it with PT on, two of my cards are RX 9060XT and can't run it (for now, maybe there would will be update in the future), and other two are RTX 30 series (3060 and 3080) and would struggle quite a bit with PT (3080 runs something like 50fps @1080 with DLSS Quality). So a month of Ultimate for $20 would be worth it (plus owning a game, of course).

For some players, this will be a problem. For others not so much. But it really depends on your use of GamePass, just like Nvidia's GeForce Now.

If you're the kind of user that buys games and uses GamePass kind of likte a renting service to try new games before deciding if you're going to buy them or not, or to play short games you can finish in a couple of days, the new limit won't affect you much. However, if you don't own games and all the games you play are from GamePass, then this may be a major problem.

My biggest gripe with these services is that they feel like drug dealers trying to get you addicted. First is all free to try/very cheap and easily available. Then they slowly raise their prices, followed by limiting what you can get unless you go for something a tier higher, and then they even limit how much of it you can get unless you become a top tier customer.

So yeah, no thanks. The moment gaming becomes subscription based, the moment I'll become a retro gamer and limit myself to the games I already have and "own".