To a certain degree.

Most consumers will do ok-ish, maybe even fairly well, as long as they don't play new, demanding AAA titles. Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Arc Raiders or even Doom The Dark Ages run great on all kinds of hardware. it's just the Cyberpunks out there that are more demanding and harder to run that will suffer the most with the direction things are going.

And that brings the other part of the problem: if less and less people will be able to afford (or willing to spend) the money required to play those games, how will developersd and publishers react? because it sure is great to see a game like Crysis or Cyberpunk or the future The Witcher 4 come out and blow us away with its graphics, but those games still need to be profitable, and that will be a much bigger challenge if your potential userbase is smaller.

Games will have to scale down, and that, in turn, will also lower the barrier of entry.

The question is how that happens and how many publishers and devs will disappear in the process.

I need developers need to simply need to learn how to do more with less. Outside of a select few games, the graphical upgrade this gen for the amount of horsepower required have been unimpressive to me. I have been playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for quite some time now on my 4090 with everything turned up to max. And then only thing that keeps coming back into my mind is... Why does this game look like dogshit outside of the more cinematic moments. Like honestly, there is something really goofed up about the lighting in this game and the environments look meh.

And yes, I did try the reshade mod that everyone and their dog has been raving over and that does improve it greatly. But there are some graphical glitches from time to time when that is enabled and really the bigger question is, why wasn't the game shipped like this?

To me it feels like developers need to go back to school and relearn game development or something lol. There really shouldn't be any excuse considering the game budgets. Just look at all the garbage Microsoft and Xbox has been put. MS for all their faults gave their developers whatever they needed. A blank check yet outside of like Forza Horizon, all they have been putting out is mid after mid with some being awful. Hell what the fuck has Rare even been doing all this time? Everwild began in 2014 and other than stupid trailers, they haven't managed to put out shat for 10+ years lol. No shit it got cancelled in 2025 but this is what I mean. It feels like developers need to be put on a strict leash or something.

Companies need to go through the entire development chain and do deep investigation because imo, a lot of developers got hired due to nepotism and not actual merit.

Personally I'm guessing it's asset creation (very broadly speaking, including levels, animation etc.) that's driven game development costs up. Everything else seems like it should scale kind of nicely with improvements in computing power, but the amount of detail assets get as computing power increases, I don't think that sounds like it scales well at all. Resolution in particular must be brutal, because it makes it so easy to see all the details - or lack thereof.

Of course I don't know this for sure. It would actually be interesting if anyone had any numbers or could e.g. compare the number of programmers, artists etc. in today's games vs. similar games a long time ago.

I think as far as optimization goes, it's diminishing returns beyond what the best-looking games are currently doing. I'm sure games aren't as optimized as they used to be, but that's probably due to increasing complexity and everything being so dynamic. That also includes building custom engines being increasingly less viable than before, so devs need to use general-purpose engines instead.

Careful with what you say about FF 7, Jizz, or you may upset Adonis, tho I'm sure he agrees with you about the poor lightning in that game.

Part of the problem, I think, comes from the engines used today. And yes, I'm obviously talking about UE5 and how resource heavy it is. The DOOM games running on ITech look great and run flawlessly in a wide range of hardware.

But, ultimately, I think the problem is that publishers still rely on graphics to sell games, and not features or gameplay, and it dosn't look like that will change anytime soon.

I'd love to see more focus on gameplay, tho. Don't get me wrong, Global Illumination looks great and makes games look better, but there are other aspects of ray tracing that don't really do much. Like, yes, look at this puddle on the street and how perfectly it reflects the light around it. How long will you stare at that puddle? How does it affect the way you play the game?

Now, improving the gameplay can also bring more demand for more powerful hardware, but the effect is more long lasting and noticeable. A couple of examples of things that were done once in the past by big publishers and IPs that have been lost:

Assassin's Creed Unity_ It's not a great game, being ok at most with a bad story and bugs and glitches (remember the characters with eyes and mouth but no face?), but the city... my God the city felt real, alive! Any street you went in that Paris was full of people, dozens of them goin arouns doing their things. It's a game where I actually walked from one point to another instead of running just to blend with the NPCs. And not only that, but you could also enter (some) homes! If there was an open door or window, yoiu could get in there and look around. In how many other games can you actually do that?

GTA San Andreas_ You could change the physical appearance of your characterby eating (getting fat) or going to the gym (growing muscles), as well as being able to get tattoos. Now, because that would be a problem with the cinematic experience, that's no longer possible.

Yes, those things take horsepower, but they were done years ago and there is no reason not to do it today. It's like the article I posted this week about the numer of planets in Starfield, where less but more detailed would have been a better option. That's true for almost every game where a smaller but with more "ñpve" map would leave a much better impression to anyone playing it.

I just want to say that Unity had so much potential, but they wasted it all with poor mission design. There's three games in the series that have taken themselves kind of seriously (in a good way): the first one, Unity, and Origins, and of those, Unity really wasted its potential. None of them were what they could have been, but every other game in the series has felt like a fun sandbox first and foremost. Those three did something (slightly) different instead.

It's been 24 hours that I didn't talk about Shader Injector's mod for FFVII Rebirth so here we go :

Early PS5 develops severe overheating as liquid metal damages heatsink surface

https://videocardz.com/newz/early-ps5-develops-severe-overheating-as-liquid-metal-damages-heatsink-surface

RTX 5090 prices rise 41% in Korea since January, Danawa warns RTX 50 prices may climb further

https://videocardz.com/newz/rtx-5090-prices-rise-41-in-korea-since-january-danawa-warns-rtx-50-prices-may-climb-further

NVIDIA GeForce NOW native Linux app leaves beta, Frame Generation gets lower latency

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-now-native-linux-app-leaves-beta-frame-generation-gets-lower-latency

RTX 5090 owner cuts hole in case for 16-pin cable, it burns anyway

https://videocardz.com/newz/rtx-5090-owner-cuts-hole-in-case-for-16-pin-cable-it-burns-anyway

NVIDIA’s Six-Year-Old A100 Defies Deprecation As CoreWeave Rents It Through 2029, Stretching Ampere To A Nine-Year Lifespan

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-a100-defies-deprecation-as-coreweave-rents-it-through-2029/

Qualcomm Aims Snapdragon C At $300 Laptops With Up To 16 GB Memory, Claims 67% Faster Speeds And 2x Efficiency Over Intel’s Twin Lake

https://wccftech.com/qualcomm-aims-snapdragon-c-at-300-usd-laptops-up-to-16-gb-memory-8-cores-all-day-battery/

ASUS Is Optimistic About RTX Spark, Says Initial Quantities “Have Already Been Fully Pre-Ordered By Our Channel Partners” As First Laptops Set To Arrive This Year

https://wccftech.com/asus-rtx-spark-laptops-channel-partners-pre-ordered-launch/

Intel CEO Hints Chipzilla’s Return To Making Memory, As He Teases “New Memory Architecture” & 3D Stacking To Tackle The DRAM Wall

https://wccftech.com/intel-ceo-hints-that-chipzilla-might-return-to-making-memory/

TSMC Exec Makes Big Announcement & Confirms 98% Yield For CoWoS Packaged AI Chips

https://wccftech.com/tsmc-exec-makes-big-announcement-confirms-98-yield-for-cowos-packaged-ai-chips/

These are the Thursday gaming news. Part one:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

The Epic Store gives away Caravan SandWitch : https://store.epicgames.com/p/caravan-sandwitch-05ff58
Next week, the free games will be Cardpocalypse Standard Edition and an Epic Mage Bundle for Alcion Online.

GOG has the new Isometric Games Sale , with games up to 95% off during 8 days: https://www.gog.com/es/promo/20260813_isometric_games_sale

Steam has new deals and sales/events:

• Kingdom Rush Frontiers gets a 60% discount until August, the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/458710/Kingdom_Rush_Frontiers__Tower_Defense/
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall will be 75% off until the same 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/718850/Age_of_Wonders_Planetfall/
• Die in the Dungeon will have a 40% discount until the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2026820/Die_in_the_Dungeon//a>
• Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator is going to be 70% off until the same 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1926520/Ambulance_Life_A_Paramedic_Simulator/
• These are the three new sales/events:
  • Reigns’ 10th Anniversary sale features up to 67% discounts and will last until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6638525/sale/reignsfranchisesale
  • Heroine’s Love Story Festival seems to be full of upcoming releases, some demos and games up to 80% off that will end between the 18h and the 25th. The games appear to be visual novels and dating sims, with no trace of NSFW. In theory.: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45323052/sale/lsf2026
  • Kingdom Hearts Franchise Sale has the three games on sale with 70% discounts until August 20: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/kingdomheartsfranchise

We have two new Humble Bundles:

• Handsome Husbandos Bundle features up to 10 items (7 games + 2DLCs + 1 Coupon) and will last 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/handsome-husbandos
• Indie’s Support for Venezuela Bundle has 13 items (12 games and a “supported pack”) and will also last 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/indies-support-for-venezuela-bundle

And there’s also Fanatical with the following deals:

• These are the new 24h Flash Deals:
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is 29% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/clair-obscur-expedition-33
  • Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered has a 65% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/legacy-of-kain-soul-reaver-1-and-2-remastered
  • Date Everything! Lavish Edition is 71% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/date-everything-lavish-edition
• The BYO Titanium Collection (August 2026) features 16 titles for your 2+, 3+ or 5+ game bundles. It will last 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-titanium-collection

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty as well

GAMING NEWS

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Gets Another New Look at Its Campaign
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-gets-another-new-look-at-its-campaign/
Activision has shared another short gameplay clip from the campaign mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. This new clip gives us our first look at the Traffic mission, in which Price and Valeria will be working together.

New Trailers for The Sinking City 2, Crimson Desert, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and More
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-trailers-for-the-sinking-city-2-crimson-desert-resonance-a-plague-tale-legacy-and-more/
A new set of trailers has been released today. As such, I’ve decided to share them in one big article. So, below you can find the latest trailers for The Sinking City 2, Crimson Desert, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, 1666: Amsterdam, and The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition.

Part two of the Thursday gaming news:

Dawn of War 4 has been delayed: 'We saw an opportunity to further enhance Dawn of War 4 and deliver the quality of experience we've always envisioned'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/dawn-of-war-4-has-been-delayed-we-saw-an-opportunity-to-further-enhance-dawn-of-war-4-and-deliver-the-quality-of-experience-weve-always-envisioned/
Bad news: Dawn of War 4 is no longer a mere month away. King Art Games' first take on the RTS series was due on September 17, but it looks like the war needs a bit more time to cook. It's been pushed back until December 3.

Amazon drops Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/amazon-drops-lost-ark-and-throne-and-liberty/
Amazon's big MMO era has taken its last gasp, as the company is ending its publishing deals for both Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark. The games themselves will continue, however: NC will take over Throne and Liberty for Western markets near the end of 2026, while Smilegate will do the same for Lost Ark in early 2027.

CD Projekt cuts more than 20% of The Witcher spinoff development team 'to reflect the project's needs at this stage of development'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-witcher/cd-projekt-cuts-more-than-20-percent-of-the-witcher-spinoff-development-team-to-reflect-the-projects-needs-at-this-stage-of-development/
CD Projekt has confirmed that nine employees working on The Witcher spinoff Project Sirius have been laid off, saying it has "adjusted the size of the Sirius team to reflect the project's needs at this stage of development."
"As a result, four people in Boston and five in Warsaw are leaving the company, while nine others have been invited to internal recruitment processes for potential roles on other CD Projekt Red projects," a rep said of the cuts, first reported by Kotaku.

Immortality creator Sam Barlow reveals his next game: A 'sci-fi horror' collaboration with Brandon Cronenberg
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/immortality-creator-sam-barlow-reveals-his-next-game-a-tale-of-visions-of-the-future-and-why-theyre-not-always-great/
Back in 2024, Immortality creator Sam Barlow teased a new thing codenamed Project C. During today's Kinetic Publishing Showcase, it was finally unveiled as Precognition, a sci-fi thriller being developed in a collaboration between Barlow's Half Mermaid Productions and horror director (and son of David) Brandon Cronenberg.

Helldivers 2 borrows from Dead Space and Silent Hill for its horrific new aliens
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-borrows-from-dead-space-and-silent-hill-for-its-horrific-new-aliens/
Today's Helldivers 2 update is bittersweet for the hardcore fans: The teased arrival of new Illuminate enemies did not include the anticipated Cultist unit, but it did add two other monstrosities that just kicked my teeth in for half an hour.
Everyone say hello to the crusher and the wretch, a pair of melee bruisers rounding out the Illuminate faction with some much-needed variety. They're the headliners of today's Devoid of Liberty update, which charges Super Earth's bravest soldiers with counteracting an imposing void that's opened up in Illuminate space.
>> There are also good things coming with the update, like finally being able to hug those little SEAF troopers (link).

And here's part three of the gaming news:

Big Walk devs talk the Australian bush and friendslop: 'I'd prefer the second word wasn't slop'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/big-walk-devs-talk-the-australian-bush-and-friendslop-id-prefer-the-second-word-wasnt-slop/
>> This comes from a Reddit AMA. The link is in the article.

Saber CEO scorns writer who says she was fired in favor of AI with confusing, combative statement
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-development/saber-ceo-scorns-writer-who-says-she-was-fired-in-favor-of-ai-with-confusing-combative-statement/

Videogame lawyer says it's become 'just boilerplate' this year to include no-AI clauses in contracts: 'It's not worth the legal liability'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-development/videogame-lawyer-says-its-become-just-boilerplate-this-year-to-include-no-ai-clauses-in-contracts-its-not-worth-the-legal-liability/
>> In case the headline doesn’t make sense to you (like it did to me), it means that it has become extremely common.