AMD EXPO 1.2 detailed by MSI and ASUS, X670 and B650 support coming

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-expo-1-2-detailed-by-msi-and-asus-x670-and-b650-support-coming

Fake RTX 4090 uses shaved GDDR6X memory and laser-engraved GPU, best one so far

https://videocardz.com/newz/fake-rtx-4090-uses-shaved-gddr6x-memory-and-laser-engraved-gpu-best-one-so-far

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D drops to $574, now $325 cheaper than 9950X3D2

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9-9950x3d-drops-to-574-now-325-cheaper-than-9950x3d2

Intel Core 5 320 “Wildcat Lake” laptop beats Apple A19 chip in mulit-core test

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-5-320-wildcat-lake-laptop-beats-apple-macbook-neo-a19-chip-in-mulit-core-test

Sony raises PS5 and PlayStation Portal prices in Southeast Asia from May 1

https://videocardz.com/newz/sony-raises-ps5-and-playstation-portal-prices-in-southeast-asia-from-may-1

Steam Controller reportedly set for May 4 release in Japan

https://videocardz.com/newz/steam-controller-reportedly-set-for-may-4-release-in-japan

Steam Controller early review leak claims $99 launch price

https://videocardz.com/newz/steam-controller-early-review-leak-claims-99-launch-price

Intel’s Latest Drivers Let’s Users Allocate Up To 93% of System Memory To Arc iGPUs For Wider AI LLM Support

https://wccftech.com/intel-drivers-lets-users-allocate-93-percent-system-memory-to-arc-igpus-wider-ai-llm-support/

Samsung 18-Day Strike Could Cut-Off DRAM & NAND Output By Up To 4%, & Recovery Will Take 2-3 Weeks

https://wccftech.com/samsung-18-day-strike-cut-off-dram-nand-output-recovery-will-take-2-3-weeks/

Google Is Reportedly A Major Intel Foundry Customer, Will Use EMIB Advanced Packaging For Next-Gen TPU

https://wccftech.com/google-major-intel-foundry-customer-emib-advanced-packaging-for-next-gen-tpu/

Steam controller reviews are coming out

I will have to watch the videos. My xbox controller is great, when it works but connection can be iffy.

Blizzard is doing so many things with Diablo IV that it kind of feels like they're doing experiments to discover what works and what doesn't, because they no longer know.

These are the Tuesday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Steam has the following deals:

• Valheim , which is still in Early Access, will be 50% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/892970/Valheim/
• Over The Top: WWI will have a 22% discount until the 8th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2778610/Over_The_Top_WWI/
• These are the new Sales/Events, in no particular order:
  • Tiny Car Games Sale is full of racing games 75% off. The deals will end between tomorrow and the 4th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46026248/sale/TinyCarGames
  • D3 Publishing Golden Week Sale features up to 90% discounts until May the 4th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33518623/sale/gw26
  • ANTS Fusion Indie Showcase has lots of upcoming titles, demos and games up to 50% off. The deals will end between the 4th and the 8th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45915974/sale/ANTSFusion2026
  • Developer/Publisher Ironhide Games puts its titles up to 65% off until the 5th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/ironhidegames/sale/publishersale
  • Assetto Corsa Franchise Sale has the games up to 75% off until the 4th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/AssettoCorsaFranchiseSale
  • Viet Indie Week with SEA Friends is full of games from Vietnam and more, from upcoming titles to games with up to 80% off. The deals will end between the 4th and the 11th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/VietIndieWeekwithSEAfriends
  • Publisher JAST puts its Visual Novels on sale with up to 60% discounts until the 10th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33587075/sale/SpringTimeScintillationSale
  • The Eastern Game Fest 2026 has upcoming games, demos and titles on sale with up to 80% discounts. The deals will end between the 5th and the 12th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/egf2026
  • INTI CREATES developer/publisher celebrates its 30th Anniversary putting its games up to 75% off until May, the 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/INTICREATES_Publisher_Sale
• And there’s also the weeklong deals

Fanatical has the BYO Fantasy Worlds Bundle, with 16 titles to choose from for your 2+, 3+ or 7+ game bundles. It will last 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-fantasy-worlds-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Teaser for Demo 3 of Sonic Adventure 2 Unreal Engine 5 Fan Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-teaser-for-demo-3-of-sonic-adventure-2-unreal-engine-5-fan-remake/
JeliLiam has shared a new teaser trailer for the upcoming Demo 3 of his amazing Sonic Adventure 2 remake in Unreal Engine 5. In this teaser, we get to see the iconic Faker scene, recreated for Sonic Adventure 2 Redux as a 3D animatic.
For those unaware, Sonic Adventure 2 Redux is a ground-up reimagining of the 2001 classic Sonic game in UE5. The remake takes advantage of the Azure Framework to overhaul the game’s physics. Moreover, players can expect tweaks and QoL improvements to the camera, controls, and UI.
Players can take advantage of the terrain by building momentum to reach incredible speeds. They will be able to bounce off platforms to reach higher ground with the bounce bracelet. They will also be able to send themselves flying using the iconic spindash.
Demo 3 will include three levels and two new battles. The new levels are the Pyramid Cave, Sky Rail, and Pumpkin Hill. The two battles are against Egg Golem and Hot Shot. The demo will also have these new animatic-style cutscenes before and after select stages. Plus, it will bring several improvements.
>> The teaser is shorter than 1 minute long.

Super ZSNES Released With Enhancements for Select Games
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/super-zsnes-released-with-enhancements-for-select-games/
The two original developers of ZSNES have just released a brand new version of it, called Super ZSNES. Super ZSNES has been rewritten completely from scratch and aims to become the best emulator for SNES. However, the duo will have to do a lot of work because, right now, Super ZSNES is nowhere close to Retroarch, BSNES, or Snes9x.
Super ZSNES promises to offer a far more accurate CPU and Audio cores than the original ZSNES. It will use a GPU-powered PPU core to allow for hi-res Mode 7 and special per-game enhancement features. Moreover, it will have the classic UI with falling snow, modernized with higher definition and improved UX.
Now, one of the biggest features of this emulator is the Super Enhancement Engine. Super ZSNES promises to use an internal drawing program. This will make sure that the higher resolution details can be manually drawn to look nice and crisp. It can also add some nice details to the backgrounds to give them a higher resolution look.
Furthermore, it will offer a cool overclocking option. Games that suffered from slowdowns, will be overclocked to avoid them. This could be a game-changer, especially in games like Doom or Starfox.
The bad news is that only a few games currently support the Super Enhancement Engine. Right now, Doom and Starfox are not among them. Not only that, but some games are not working at all with Super ZSNES.
One of my favourite SNES games is Jurassic Park. So, I fired it up, and after its initial intro, the game screen remained black. The emulator does not display any visuals, and there is no music. Jurassic Park works with most other SNES emulators. So, that’s a big bummer for me.
It’s funny because Jurassic Park would greatly benefit from the overclocking features of Super ZSNES. The game ran with 10-15FPS on the real console. So, having this game running perfectly smoothly would be a great showcase.
I then tried Donkey Kong Country. The emulator was able to load and play that game fine. However, it looked really ugly. And the reason for this is the lack of any retro CRT or scanline filters. As such, all SNES games feel quite ugly on high-res PC monitors. Again, the best option right now is Retroarch with BSNES for the SNES core. With that, you can get some excellent retro CRT/scanline filters.
If you have an HDR PC monitor or TV, I highly recommend using the CyberLab Megatron miniLED 4K HDR Game BFI shaders. These are the best I’ve seen. There are shaders for both arcade and consoles, and their image quality is excellent. They are a must-have for everyone.
>> The article has an over 15 minutes video of the new emulator.

New Morrowind mod not only adds Sekiro parry, it quietly overhauls the RPG's most controversial mechanic
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/new-morrowind-mod-not-only-adds-sekiro-parry-it-quietly-overhauls-the-rpgs-most-controversial-mechanic/
Look, the Elder Scrolls series has never had great combat, but 2002's Morrowind and the games before it are the worst offenders. A new mod for the OpenMW source port could be just the thing to make the open world clunker sing, though: It adds a Sekiro-style perfect block parry, as well as one of the most cleverly balanced overhauls of Morrowind's controversial percent-chance-to-hit system I've seen.
Author MrArrean describes his mod, N'Garde (nice), as "What if Bethesda had another year or two to let Morrowind cook?" with a goal of "more difficult, but more rewarding melee combat." N'Garde is primarily built around the best kind of parry: A perfect block where, when you hit the timing window, you take no damage and stagger your opponent.
Miss the window? You still get an imperfect block that doesn't ruin your whole day like the sluggish shield swings of Dark Souls.
N'Garde is shockingly modular and lightweight, working with completely unmodded OpenMW and a list of 15 tested mods, including animation replacers. I love how thoughtfully it's been weaved into Morrowind's base systems, too: Your perfect block window and imperfect block efficiency can be improved by leveling the game's block skill, but if you're blocking with a weapon and no shield, your skill with that weapon type (long blades, blunt, etc.) will impact your effectiveness as well.
MrArrean even tweaked parry windows and effectiveness by weapon type: Bigger and heavier weapons are understandably superior to lighter ones, but shields reign supreme over all. N'Garde even plays nice with Morrowind's default (awful) hit chance system, while also offering one of the most inspired alternatives I've seen.
(...)
But as bad as missing melee attacks in Morrowind feels, the game was balanced around this system, and when I've modded it out completely, the game just feels too flat and boring. N'Garde has a completely optional overhaul of this system to introduce "Glancing Blows," a halfway point between misses and full hits
(…)
Magic is the way to go in Morrowind, but I never like being a pure mage in any RPG. So the next time I feel the urge to rock some kind of Orc or Dark Elf Nightblade on the scenic island of Vvardenfell, you best believe I'm taking N'Garde for a spin⁠—even with my increasing aversion to modding Bethesda and Bethesda-adjacent games in such a manner.
>> There is a four minutes video of this mod.

GAMING NEWS

Black Myth: Wukong Denuvo Protection Has Been Cracked
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/black-myth-wukong-denuvo-protection-has-been-cracked/
Black Myth: Wukong is the latest victim of ‘voices38’ as he was able to crack its Denuvo anti-tamper tech. Black Myth: Wukong came out in August 2024. As such, it took almost one and a half years for voices38 to crack it.
Now I know there was a HYPERVISOR Bypass for Black Myth: Wukong. However, I’m not a big fan of those bypasses.

Here are the full patch notes for ARC Raiders Riven Tides Update 1.26.0
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/here-are-the-full-patch-notes-for-arc-raiders-riven-tides-update-1-26-0/
Embark Studios will release the Riven Tides Update 1.26.0 for ARC Raiders later today and has shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.
>> The update will make weapons break faster, to help fix the problem of players accumulating too many weapons (link).

The Division Resurgence Released on PC + PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-division-resurgence-has-been-released-on-pc-in-early-access/
Ubisoft has just released The Division Resurgence on PC in Early Access. The Division Resurgence is a free‑to‑play looter‑shooter RPG featuring tactical combat, deep progression, and an exclusive canon storyline.

Tuesday gaming news, part two:

Directive 8020 is using an episodic structure straight out of a limited TV series 'to be mindful of people's time'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/directive-8020-is-using-an-episodic-structure-straight-out-of-a-limited-tv-series-to-be-mindful-of-peoples-time/
One thing you get from Supermassive Games that you just can't get from other horror games is a cinematic experience. I like to joke that the premise of these games is simply: 'What would you do if you were in a horror movie', and Directive 8020 stays along those lines as it dumps players in what is essentially John Carpenter's The Thing, but in space.
Aboard the Cassiopeia you follow a group of scientists and explorers, plus one billionaire on their maiden voyage towards a new possible home for humanity. But your travel is rudely interrupted by some strange extraterrestrial lifeform that steals people's identities and then tries to kill off the crew.
The story is made even more suspenseful by its episodic structure, as each episode usually ends on some disastrous cliffhanger or 'oh shit' moment. The end of episode four was the latter for me, as I failed a quick time event during an altercation with one of the monsters, and the character I was playing ended up with one less eye. Whoops.

The Valve-approved Half-Life remake is joining the Garry's Mod family 'by popular demand'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-valve-approved-half-life-remake-is-joining-the-garrys-mod-family-by-popular-demand/
Sandbox fun times simulator Garry's Mod has gobbled up pretty much every official Valve Source game into its toybox at this point, but there is land yet to conquer. Facepunch announced this week that the 20-year-old game's next patch, planned for April 29, will finally bring Black Mesa into the fold.
"By popular demand and with approval from its developers, this update will be adding mounting support for Black Mesa in Garry's Mod," the blog post reads.

PowerWash Simulator 2 is getting Star Wars DLC, and it's about time somebody's focusing on the most important part of the galaxy far, far away
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/powerwash-simulator-2s-is-getting-star-wars-dlc-and-its-about-time-somebodys-focusing-on-the-most-important-part-of-the-galaxy-far-far-away/
PowerWash Simulator 2 developer FuturLab has announced a Star Wars DLC pack for its much-loved spray-cleaning sequel, publishing a preview teaser that promises players a chance to introduce the joys of pressurized purgation to the deserts of Tatooine, the frigid expanse of Hoth, and wherever the Rebel Alliance might have decided to park its X-wings.

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred will launch with a bare bones new season to keep its new campaign and revolutionized loot chase in the spotlight
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4-lord-of-hatred-will-launch-with-a-bare-bones-new-season-to-keep-its-new-campaign-and-revolutionized-loot-chase-in-the-spotlight/
As someone who has already experienced the mountain of changes coming in Diablo 4's new Lord of Hatred expansion, I already wasn't expecting much from the new season that will begin shortly after it launches.
There are so many changes in Lord of Hatred that it already fulfills the purpose of a season that would typically introduce temporary powers or a limited story—with the significant caveat that it's a $40 add-on. Instead of placing a hat on top of a hat, Blizzard has decided to keep the focus on the new campaign and all the new system changes that come into play after the credits roll.
The Season of Reckoning will be a Diablo 4 season in name only: You can still create new seasonal characters and climb through the levels until you're a demon-slaying god, but nothing you experience will be exclusive to the next three months.
>> The expansion has a song from Korn (link).

This photorealistic FPS runs in browser thanks to 'Gaussian Splatting', which is now my new favorite thing
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/this-photorealistic-fps-runs-in-browser-thanks-to-gaussian-splatting-which-is-now-my-new-favorite-thing/
Believe it or not, but you can play a photorealistic FPS in your browser right now, even if you don't have a massive GPU. This simple FPS project doesn't exactly offer pulse pounding gameplay, but is instead head-turning for how it conjures a photorealistic environment without hogging your rig's resources. The project was made by Iakov Sumygin, a software engineer at Snap Inc (the creators of SnapChat), and built using the company's browser-based game engine PlayCanvas. To create this itty bitty shooter's realistic environments, Sumygin used 'Gaussian Splatting', which combines multiple images of a real-world environment with camera position data, thereby creating a patchwork, virtual rendering of a space that can then be viewed from new angles (via Tom's Hardware).

As if Final Fantasy 14's free trial wasn't already generous enough, it now includes the best expansion in the entire game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/as-if-final-fantasy-14s-free-trial-wasnt-already-generous-enough-it-now-includes-the-best-expansion-in-the-entire-game/
And so, the Final Fantasy 14 free trial copypasta gets longer once more. The MMO has been show-ponied around by the community for its rather generous free trial for ages now. First it was up to level 60 including Heavensward, and then in 2023 was extended to include Stormblood. And as of today's Patch 7.5, the free trial includes the best damn expansion of them all: Shadowbringers.

And here’s the third part of the gaming news:

Star Wars Galaxies' tragic fate caused FF14's devs to keep the old job designs available for Evercold's overhaul: 'Players did not take that very well'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/star-wars-galaxies-tragic-fate-caused-ff14s-devs-to-keep-the-old-job-designs-available-for-evercolds-overhaul-players-did-not-take-that-very-well/

Fortnite offers refunds on D4vd cosmetics following his arrest for murder
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fortnite-offers-refunds-on-d4vd-cosmetics-following-his-arrest-for-murder/

Mass Effect Andromeda actor says the game got a 'bum rap' from 'chuds' and was 'done dirty by a publisher expecting too much from it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mass-effect/mass-effect-andromeda-actor-says-the-game-got-a-bum-rap-from-chuds-and-was-done-dirty-by-a-publisher-expecting-too-much-from-it/

Snake voice actor David Hayter was befuddled by Metal Gear Solid's convoluted plot: 'I'd be like 'what does this mean?' and they'd say 'just say it''
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/snake-voice-actor-david-hayter-was-befuddled-by-metal-gear-solids-convoluted-plot-id-be-like-what-does-this-mean-and-theyd-say-just-say-it/

Suspected Trump shooter's game pulled from sale on Steam after flood of meme reviews
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/suspected-trump-shooters-game-pulled-from-sale-on-steam-after-flood-of-meme-reviews/

Fallout: New Vegas dev argues it was a mistake to make Wild Wasteland part of character creation: 'I'm gonna choose that no matter what. Because I don't want to miss a damn thing'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-new-vegas-dev-argues-it-was-a-mistake-to-make-wild-wasteland-part-of-character-creation-im-gonna-choose-that-no-matter-what-because-i-dont-want-to-miss-a-damn-thing/
>> It comes from Chris Avellone’s interview from last week, where he also talked about the Rorschach Test and the problems they had with it (link).

Pearl Abyss paid its employees a 5 million won bonus after Crimson Desert reached 5 million sales: 'Our journey does not end here'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pearl-abyss-paid-its-employees-a-5-million-won-bonus-after-crimson-desert-reached-5-million-sales-our-journey-does-not-end-here/
>> It’s equivalent to around $3,400.

Fallout co-creator wants to make one last game before he retires 'for the second time'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-co-creator-wants-to-make-one-last-game-before-he-retires-for-the-second-time/
>> Isn't he’s already doing that?

Microsoft previews Shader Model 6.10 with new DirectX GPU features, supported by current-gen GPU architectures

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsoft-previews-shader-model-6-10-with-new-directx-gpu-features-supported-by-current-gen-gpu-architectures

Lenovo acquires Phoenix Technologies’ BIOS business

https://videocardz.com/newz/lenovo-acquires-phoenix-technologies-bios-business

ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3090 repair shows how one wrong screw can kill the VRM

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-strix-rtx-3090-repair-shows-how-one-wrong-screw-can-kill-the-vrm

Sony reportedly tests 30-day online license checks for new PlayStation purchases

https://videocardz.com/newz/sony-reportedly-tests-30-day-online-license-checks-for-new-playstation-purchases

If they actually go through with this, it will be one of the dumbest moves the company has made

Samsung Odyssey G8 G80HS 6K 165Hz monitor launches in Europe for €1,499

https://videocardz.com/newz/samsung-odyssey-g8-g80hs-6k-165hz-monitor-launches-in-europe-for-e1499

Framework jokes Dell is stealing its influencers with free XPS laptops

https://videocardz.com/newz/framework-jokes-dell-is-stealing-its-influencers-with-free-xps-laptops

Corsair’s New 16-Pin Cable Shuts Down Your GPU The Moment The Connector Gets Too Hot, Works With Any 12V-2×6 PSU

https://wccftech.com/corsair-16-pin-cable-shuts-down-your-gpu-the-moment-the-connector-gets-too-hot/

Australia Buyers Pay Just 9.5% More For GPUs While US Shoppers Get Hit With 22% RAMpocalypse Premium

https://wccftech.com/latest-gpu-market-data-shows-stabilized-prices-in-different-regions/

https://www.techspot.com/article/3115-gpu-pricing-q2-2026/

TSMC Hits Pause on ASML’s Newest Lithography for A13 Process

https://technologymagazine.com/news/tsmc-hits-pause-on-asmls-newest-lithography-for-a13-process

This is a stupid and completely unnecessary move that only hurts consumers with zero benefits for anyone.

But it's what happens when a company controls its market like Sony does with the Playstation, it can do whatever it wants because they believe that it won't hurt them.

https://wccftech.com/galax-exit-graphics-card-market-palit-assumes-full-control/

The very best OC card brand has gone, we lost the 2nd best in EVGA. Who's next? I do not rate the bog standard Palit cards myself.