Well, it wouldn't be very out-of-season April Fool's joke this time as we're still in April, but...

You guys don't have 28 skeletons?

PR mistake from somewhere within the company. Palit is merely consolidating all brands under one roof.

Microsoft’s Windows secrete K2 plan aims to cut Windows 11 bloat and improve gaming performance

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsofts-windows-secrete-k2-plan-aims-to-cut-windows-11-bloat-and-improve-gaming-performance

Microsoft rolls out Game Package Manager for Xbox developers, making game publishing easier

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsoft-rolls-out-game-package-manager-for-xbox-developers-making-game-publishing-easier

Microsoft adds Power Display to PowerToys, must have for mulit-monitor users

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsoft-adds-power-display-to-powertoys-must-have-for-mulit-monitor-users

PS5 Linux project released, turning some PlayStation 5 consoles into Linux PCs

https://videocardz.com/newz/ps5-linux-project-released-turning-some-playstation-5-consoles-into-linux-pcs

GIGABYTE turns 40 this week, RTX 5090 Infinity launch may be close

https://videocardz.com/newz/gigabyte-turns-40-this-week-rtx-5090-infinity-launch-may-be-close

TSMC Doubles Down on 2nm With Five Fabs Ramping at Once, Output Set to Eclipse 3nm by 2x

https://wccftech.com/tsmc-doubles-down-on-2nm-five-fabs-ramping-at-once-output-eclipse-3nm-by-2x/

ASUS Cracks the JEDEC Mixing Problem on Intel Z890 & B860, Letting Users Pair Mismatched DDR5 Sticks As RAM Prices Spike

https://wccftech.com/asus-aemp-iii-brings-support-for-mixed-ddr5-configurations-on-intel-z890-and-b860-motherboards/

Intel’s 18A-P Pulls in Apple’s Next M Chips While EMIB Reportedly Wins Google TPUv8e As Customer Confidence Amps Up

https://wccftech.com/intel-18a-p-pulls-in-apple-next-m-chips-emib-reportedly-wins-google-tpuv8e/

Rumoured that is

NVIDIA’s Laptop RTX 5070 12 GB Matches The 8 GB Version In Synthetic Tests, Leaked Benchmarks Show

https://wccftech.com/nvidias-laptop-rtx-5070-12-gb-matches-tthe-8-gb-version-in-synthetic-tests/

Zuckerberg's Meta will beam sunlight from space to power AI data centers, solar-collecting satellites will orbit 22,000 miles above Earth — firm reserves 1 Gigawatt of orbital solar energy and 100 Gigawatt-hours of long-duration storage

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/meta-will-beam-sunlight-from-space-to-power-ai-data-centers-solar-collecting-satellites-will-orbit-22-000-miles-above-earth-firm-reserves-1-gigawatt-of-orbital-solar-energy-and-100-gigawatt-hours-of-long-duration-storage

Here are the gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

There are dozens of us! The best third-person shooter of all time sees HUGE* player spike on Steam after Capcom's Pragmata
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/there-are-dozens-of-us-the-best-third-person-shooter-of-all-time-sees-huge-player-spike-on-steam-after-capcoms-pragmata/
PC Gamer Editor-in-Chief Phil Savage is a man of impeccable taste, but I still hold a tiny grudge against him for not breaking the seal on PC Gamer's 98% review threshold to award Vanquish, the Xbox 360-era PlatinumGames shooter brought to PC in 2017, an unprecedented perfect score. "Beyond the laser-focused core loop, there isn't much to Vanquish. You start with knee-sliding acrobatics, and end the same way—around six or so hours later," Phil wrote in his 80% review when Vanquish arrived on PC.
True enough, past Phil. But also: the Vanquish knee slide is the sickest move ever programmed into a videogame, followed closely by the second sickest move ever programmed into a videogame, in which at the press of a button Vanquish hero Sam Gideon pops off the helmet of his super suit, blasts a cig, and then flicks it away. There's an achievement for distracting robots with a cigarette before you shoot them. Only the Pope could do it better.
I'm afraid the math is clearly on my side here: that's a 100/100 right there.
On a superficial level, I've seen some chatter in the last couple weeks that Capcom's excellent Pragmata has a bit of a Vanquish vibe to it. I get the comparison, in that it's a pretty straightforward third-person shooter made by a Japanese developer, also starring a guy in a white astronaut-style space suit. You can do little jet-powered dashes in Pragmata, though nothing as prolonged or flashy as Sam's rocket knee slides in Vanquish.
(...)
Whatever the reason, I'm excited to report Vanquish's numbers on Steam in the wake of Pragmata's release are up. Way up. If, uh, you go by percentages and only look at the last couple months of activity. According to Vanquish's SteamDB page, it's up an impressive 34.8% in peak players over the last 30 days, for a gain of 16 whole people knee sliding in simultaneous bliss. Meanwhile, the average player count is up even more, at a 52.9% increase—that's 26 more people playing Vanquish every day on Steam, on average! Twenty six people whose lives are for certain better this month than they were in March.

It’s Wednesday and GOG still hasn’t launched a new promo/sale. They’re cooking something, but I don’t know what it is.

Steam has four new deals and one sale:

• Artifact Seeker: Resurrection has a demo and a 60% discount that will last until the 5th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3054610/Artifact_Seeker_Resurrection/
• MEMORIAPOLIS will be 30% off until May 12: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2228280/MEMORIAPOLIS/
• Pro Cycling Manager 25 gets a 90% discount until the 12th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2511310/Pro_Cycling_Manager_25/
• If one isn’t enough, Tour de France 2025 is also going to be 90% off until the 12th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2511320/Tour_de_France_2025/
• You may be surprised, but the two previous cyclists games are from the same developer and publisher, and you can get them both in this bundle that is also 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/54512/Cycling_Bundle_2025/
• And Publisher tinyBuild celebrates its 15th Anniversary, and they do it by putting its games on sale with up to 80% discounts. The deals will end between the 4th and the 12th of May, but most will last until the 5th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6858705/sale/anniversary

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal and bundle deals:

• The new Star Deal is Sniper Elite 5 , 93% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/sniper-elite-5
• BYO Capcom Masters Bundle has 11 games to choose from for your 2+, 3+ or 4+ bundles. It’s shorter than usual, as it will last 25 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-capcom-masters-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 596.36
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-596-36

HIGHLIGHTS
Game Ready for Conan Exiles Enhanced
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 4.5 technology including Conan Exiles Enhanced.

Gaming Technology
Adds support for the GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU (12GB)

FIXED ISSUES
Fixed Gaming Bugs

• God of War: Ragnarok: Certain textures may intermittently flash white during gameplay. [5856704]
• Assassins Creed Shadows: Flickering on character model clothing [5987951]
• The Crew Motorfest: Grass and vegetation flickering [5950261]

Fixed General Bugs

• Blocky artifacts when playing back H.264 content with DXVA 2.0 [6058551]
• Blender 5.0.1 EEVEE: Non-shader nodes connected to the material output rendered as black (zero value) [5965763]

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

We may be one step closer to a Doom 3 Path Tracing Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/we-may-be-one-step-closer-to-a-doom-3-path-tracing-mod/
The one game that came to my mind when NVIDIA announced the RTX Remix tool was Doom 3. Sadly, though, this game uses OpenGL and RTX Remix has a lot of trouble overhauling those games. However, we may be one step closer to a Path Tracing Mod as Justin Marshall was able to implement DX12 and DXR to the official level editor of Doom 3.
The modder has integrated Direct3D 12 and real-time raytracing (DXR) directly into the Doom 3 editor. As such, it allows full in-editor raytraced preview while building levels.
To prove those claims, Marshall shared the following video. In this video, we get a glimpse at a simple ray-traced level for Doom 3.
As said, this DX12 and DXR support is only available for the level editor of Doom 3. It does not allow you to play the entire single-player campaign. In fact, you can’t even download this mod yet as there isn’t any release yet on its Github. Still, this may open up the doors for a proper Path Tracing Mod.
>> The video is short, not even 30 second long.

GAMING NEWS

The Blood of Dawnwalker Gets PC Requirements, Release Date & Story Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-blood-of-dawnwalker-gets-pc-requirements-release-date-story-trailer/
Bandai Namco has revealed the official PC system requirements, the release date, and a new story trailer for The Blood of Dawnwalker. So, let’s dive in.

Dev diaries released for Thick as Thieves and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dev-diaries-released-for-thick-as-thieves-and-clive-barkers-hellraiser-revival/
Megabit Publishing and Saber Interactive have released new dev diaries for Thick as Thieves and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival. So, if you have been waiting for them, you should check them out.

Gaming news, part two:

'Eventually the slop will just fall to the bottom': Garry's Mod sequel launches to 'mixed' reviews, but Garry himself isn't worried about AI games on the main page
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/eventually-the-slop-will-just-fall-to-the-bottom-garrys-mod-sequel-launches-to-mixed-reviews-but-garry-himself-isnt-worried-about-ai-games-on-the-main-page/
Today saw the release of s&box, the long-in-development successor to Garry's mod that's also open source and hopes to become a kind of Roblox for dads. There's no denying the potential of this toolkit, nor the commendably generous principles behind why it's been released in the way it has, but it does have one immediate issue. And it's 2026, so of course that issue is AI-generated slop.

Helldivers 2 finally buffs mechs with double durability, and in unrelated news, Arrowhead is selling new mechs for $10
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-finally-buffs-mechs-with-double-durability-and-in-unrelated-news-arrowhead-is-selling-new-mechs-for-usd10/
Many Helldivers 2 fans weren't thrilled to learn last week that Arrowhead is locking two new mechs behind the $10 Exo Experts warbond. It's the first time the vehicle has seen any evolution in two years, and the decision to sell its flamethrowing and grenade-lobbing variants furthers a trend of all (not just some) new Helldivers 2 equipment coming with a price tag.
To help ease the tension, and make the premium mechs more enticing, Arrowhead is introducing sweeping buffs to all mechs (including the ones you can unlock for free) in patch 6.2.2, which dropped at the same time as Exo Experts today.

'Please have faith in us once again' says Windrose dev, revealing its first big content update won't arrive for 'at least 6 months'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/please-have-faith-in-us-once-again-says-windrose-dev-revealing-its-first-big-content-update-wont-arrive-for-at-least-6-months/
Pirate survival game Windrose is a megahit, but after two weeks of sailing the early access seas, a lot of pirates have run out of new discoveries and have fully explored the game's initial three biomes. Many players are naturally asking: what's next? And, perhaps as importantly: when?
Today developer Kraken Express outlined some of its plans for the future. That includes a host of fixes it expects to deliver over the next couple of weeks, including performance and stability improvements, solutions for connectivity issues, CPU usage on idle clients and servers, and a bunch of "quality of life" changes.
As far as new content like more biomes and boss, that's going to take considerably longer to arrive.
>> The devs have also said that they don't have any progress wipes planned for early access, but 'of course s**t happens' (link).

Bad news, that adorable backpack that mysteriously appeared in Final Fantasy 14 players' inventories isn't meant to be there
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/bad-news-that-adorable-backpack-that-mysteriously-appeared-in-final-fantasy-14-players-inventories-isnt-meant-to-be-there/
Patch 7.5 for Final Fantasy 14 landed today, and with it a strange appearance in the inventories for some players: an adorable otter backpack that reminds me of those weird Loungefly bags that seem to permeate every pop culture store in the UK.
It wasn't mentioned in the patch notes, and stuff randomly appearing without due notice is very rare. It also wasn't immediately obvious exactly what was triggering it to show up for some but not for others—I didn't have it, but my friend did.
After some tinkering around and dropping 140,000 gil on a Black Embroidered Parasol (and a handful of other registrable accessories), I saw the backpack instantly pop into my fashion accessories tab as if by magic. My friend surmised it was probably an accidental item ID overlap, and I now have to regrettably tell him that he's pretty smart since Square Enix has now confirmed this to be the case.

Here's the Neverness to Everness release date and time for your region
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/nte-release-date-launch-times/
If you're the gacha gaming type, it's almost time to add a new game to the daily rotation as the Neverness to Everness release date is almost here. NTE is the next free-to-play, open world action RPG from Hotta Studio—the same developer that launched the now reformed gacha Tower of Fantasy just a few years ago, but this one is launching with its RNG mechanics intact.

Gothic Remake will be just as strict on murder as the original, and if you get caught NPCs will remember 'you're kind of a rude guy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/gothic-remake-will-be-just-as-strict-on-murder-as-the-original-and-if-you-get-caught-npcs-will-remember-youre-kind-of-a-rude-guy/
(...)
In Gothic, while beasts in the wilderness will kill and eat you given a chance, humans will happily let you live. Melee attacks default to non-lethal, and only when you've knocked someone down do you have the option to finish them off. If you do, it's a big deal. Even among the rough-and-tumble miners, renegades, and drug-addled swamp cultists of the penal colony, murder is considered a bit of a no-no.
That'll be true in the remake as well, game director Reinhard Pollice explains. "For the humans, that's definitely the case," he says, "and it's connected to a crime system. Obviously, if somebody would see that, word would get out in the whole faction—that you're kind of a rude guy who is attacking people. And then at some point, people won't talk to you."

Resident Evil 9's director reveals there was a 'phantom Chapter 2' that was cut 'in the process of finalising the game's structure'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/resident-evil/resident-evil-9s-director-reveals-there-was-a-phantom-chapter-2-that-was-cut-in-the-process-of-finalising-the-games-structure/
Resident Evil Requiem managed to snag the spot of my favourite modern Resi game on release. At just 10 hours long it managed to have me hooked for every zombie jumpscare and complicated puzzle. I didn't think it could get much better, but now I'm finding out that there was even more to it.
"I've mentioned in interviews before that there was a phantom 'Chapter 2' for Resident Evil 7 that was cut during development," director Akifumi Nakanishi explains in an interview with Denfaminicogamer. "It was a scene where you move from the first annex to the main building. But actually, there was also a phantom Chapter 2 for Resident Evil Requiem.
>> More RE Requiem articles: 1- Only 40% of players switched to third person during Grace's parts in Resident Evil Requiem: 'There are clear differences in this data depending on the platform and region' (link) ; 2- Resident Evil Requiem devs thought it would take 2 weeks to crack the Final Puzzle, but players did it in 4 days (link).

And here’s the short part three:

Balatro's mind-bending code uses mouse jitter for random number generation, along with a bunch of clever maths I'm too dense to fully appreciate
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/balatros-mind-bending-code-uses-mouse-jitter-for-random-number-generation-along-with-a-bunch-of-clever-maths-im-too-dense-to-fully-appreciate/

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred's new hardest difficulty tier has been conquered in just 17 hours by a sleepless sorceress
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4-lord-of-hatreds-new-hardest-difficulty-tier-has-been-conquered-in-just-17-hours-by-a-sleepless-sorceress/

Blizzard's former president wanted there to be a WoW 2 rather than 'the same WoW 1 expansions over and over re-skinned'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzards-former-president-wanted-there-to-be-a-wow-2-rather-than-the-same-wow-1-expansions-over-and-over-re-skinned/

Thanks for posting both articles to get the full picture.

I hope this consolidation only involves the administrative part of the three brands and they can still work on their coolers/board designs as before, but we'll see. 

So MSoft's plan to fix Windows is to go back and remove all the crap they've added to it for years? I'd love to believe it but, being the current MSoft, I have many doubts about what do they consider "bloat" and what is "essential" to the Windows experience they want to create. 

Hey, remember when crazy people had delusions about space lasers owned by Jews and we laughed at them? Well...

(Just to be clear, I know it's not like that, but I couldn't let the joke go by. Besides, it starts this way, but who knows how it will end.)

Apparently the Galax team is gone and Palit will just keep the brand name going. It makes zero sense, if the team has disbanded then what is the point?

Brand power and the money it brings, obviously. Palit will be able to charge more for a Galax or HoF branded card than a Palit one even if both use the same PCB design and components with a slightly different cooler.

A shame really.

While it wasn't Galax, my GTX 1070 was from KFA2, and I was very happy with it during many, many years.

I am no scientist but it feels like having satellites continuously reflecting the suns rays towards the earth will have awful environmental impact, especially at the ozone layer. I really hope people asked the right questions before implementing such crazyness lol