The problem with those "prettied up" slides is that the actual product can never reach the hype they create, and that leads to disappointment and people claiming that the end product is worse than it really is.

Realistic slides are better in the long term, imho.

Friday news. Yay!

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

PUBG is the third highest earning game ever on Steam, according to Gabe Newell
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-is-the-third-highest-earning-game-ever-on-steam-according-to-gabe-newell/
Valve's hardware and technology research has been an "investment in the future," said Newell, one which he connects to the incredible success of PUBG. "[That investment] does help do good things for the gaming industry. So you can have a relatively new game like PUBG, and because they can capitalize on all the other multiplayer games, the technology, the fact that China is now a huge market for anybody who does PC game development—So PUBG can come out of pretty much nowhere and become the third largest selling game in Steam's history. Their gross revenue over all time is already number three in fairly short order."

SOFTWARE

Gabe Newell: 'Hooray! Valve's going to start shipping games again'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gabe-newell-hooray-valves-going-to-start-shipping-games-again/
At a presentation for upcoming Dota 2-themed card game Artifact at Valve's offices in Bellevue, Washington today, Gabe Newell reiterated that Valve is getting back into developing new games beyond its current roster of multiplayer titles. After talking about Valve's focus on Steam and hardware during the past several years, which he described as "an investment in the future", Newell said "Artifact is the first of several games that are going to be coming from us. So that's sort of good news. Hooray! Valve's going to start shipping games again."

>>About time! Now we may have a game with a 3 on it.

Batman joins Origin Access as EA opens the doors to other publishers
https://www.pcgamer.com/batman-joins-origin-access-as-ea-opens-the-doors-to-other-publishers/
EA has opened its subscription service, Origin Access, to other publishers, significantly expanding its library of games. Take a gander now and you’ll see a bunch of Warner Bros. games rubbing elbows with the likes of Mass Effect and Battlefield. Other publishers will also be joining Origin Access soon, adding The Witness, Bulletstorm and Wasteland 2.

MODS/EMULATORS

First Metal Gear Survive mods enable minimap everywhere, disable the annoying Radio warnings
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-metal-gear-survive-mods-enable-minimap-everywhere-disable-radio-warnings/
Konami has been criticized by a lot of players and critics for its gameplay decisions in Metal Gear Survive. One of them that annoyed players was the removal of the in-game minimap in areas that were covered by fog. And as you may have guessed, a mod was released to enable the minimap in those areas.
Created by modder ‘Rubim’, the Minimap mod for Metal Gear Survive enables minimap everywhere. Furthermore, Rubim has also released another mod that completely disables the annoying radio warnings.

>>Both mods are available from Nexus Mods: Minimap and disable radio warnings.

GAMING NEWS

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has been officially confirmed, full reveal coming on May 17th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-4-has-been-officially-confirmed-full-reveal-coming-on-may-17th/
Activision has confirmed that Treyarch is working on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (or Call of Duty Black Ops IIII) will be released on October 12th and the publisher will fully reveal this new Call of Duty title on May 17th.

It’s official, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is coming to the PC on July 10th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/its-official-crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-is-coming-to-the-pc-on-july-10th/
And it’s official. Activision has confirmed that Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is coming to the PC on July 10th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has released a new trailer that you can view below.

First screenshots for Dark Souls Remastered unveiled
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/first-screenshots-for-dark-souls-remastered-unveiled/
Bandai Namco has revealed the first screenshots for Dark Souls Remastered. Dark Souls Remastered will allow players to re-experience the genre-defining title that kicked off a worldwide gaming phenomena in stunning high-definition detail, with support for 4K resolutions and 60fps.

>>They should leave the fps uncapped, for those with high refresh monitors.

First major update released for Forged Battalion, Petroglyph’s real-time strategy game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-major-update-released-for-forged-battalion-petroglyphs-real-time-strategy-game/
Team17 and Petroglyph have announced that Forged Battalion, the innovative and dynamic new take on the real-time strategy genre, has had its first major update since launching into Steam early access on 16th January 2018. The update includes major content as well as plenty of balancing tweaks and general fixes.

Quake Champions March update brings Instagib, 2v2 ranked play and ‘No Abilities’ mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/quake-champions-march-update-brings-instagib-2v2-ranked-play-and-no-abilities-mode/
id Software has announced that it will release a major new free update for Quake Champions next Thursday, March 15th, delvering new ways to play and fun new looks. This will include the return of Instagib – the first new game mode added since closed beta – the introduction of ‘No Abilities Mode’ in custom games; a new 2v2 version of Ranked Play for competitive players and a variety of fresh seasonal cosmetics to commemorate the coming of Spring.

Sea of Thieves Open Beta phase begins on March 9th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sea-of-thieves-open-beta-phase-begins-on-march-9th/
Rare has announced that the final – and open – beta phase for Sea of Thieves will begin on March 9th. As its title suggests, this beta will be available to everyone and will last until March 11th at 10am GMT.

First Insurgency: Sandstorm alpha screenshots released
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/first-insurgency-sandstorm-alpha-screenshots-released/
Focus Home Interactive and New World Interactive have released the first alpha gameplay screenshots for Insurgency: Sandstorm. Insurgency: Sandstorm is built in Unreal Engine 4 with upgraded graphics, promising to take the series into a new era.

Focus Home Interactive releases first in-game screenshot for Farming Simulator 19
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/focus-home-interactive-releases-first-screenshot-for-farming-simulator-19/
Focus Home Interactive has released the first in-game screenshot for GIANTS Software’s upcoming farming simulator game, Farming Simulator 19. As the publisher noted, the game will benefit this year from a complete overhaul and a total revision of its graphics engine.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Patch 1.3 is now available, adds Save & Exit option, improves overall performance
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/kingdom-come-deliverance-patch-1-3-is-now-available-adds-save-exit-option-improves-overall-performance/
Warhorse Studios has released the highly anticipated patch 1.3 for Kingdom Come: Deliverance. According to the release notes, this new update adds a Save & Exit option, improves saving functionalities, improves lockpicking, improves pickpocketing, and improves overall performance.

Friday news, second and last part:

Co-op melee masher Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is out today
https://www.pcgamer.com/co-op-melee-masher-warhammer-vermintide-2-is-out-today/
If you're at all interested in co-op hack-and-slasher Warhammer: Vermintide 2, which comes out today, then I recommend you head straight over to this piece, written by the PC Gamer team after they spent a few hours bashing rats' heads in. And when you're done, read this piece Tom wrote after playing a slice with developers Fatshark in January. Basically, it's a brutal Left 4 Dead-like melee game that's difficult even on the easiest settings (though they've since been a bit softened), with 13 campaign missions to play through.

Project Méliès is the next game from Observer, Layers of Fear dev
https://www.pcgamer.com/project-melies-is-the-next-game-from-observer-layers-of-fear-dev/
Bloober Team, creators of Observer and Layers of Fear, revealed their next game today. Codenamed Project Méliès, the game was announced by publisher Gun Media, who says the game's official title and its release date will be announced "at a later date."

We've got three new Shadowverse cards to reveal
https://www.pcgamer.com/weve-got-five-new-shadowverse-cards-to-reveal/
A new expansion is coming to the free-to-play fantasy CCG Shadowverse at the end of the month called Dawnbreak, Nightedge. The eighth new card set will add a new "Choose" keyword that enables the use of special abilities or effects when certain cards are played, a twist that publisher Cygames said will enable "unprecedented levels of strategic depth." And once again, we've got an exclusive look at three of the new cards that are on the way.

PUBG's next map is a tiny tropical island
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-pubg-map/
Jungle, not snow, as many hoped, will be the setting for the new PUBG map.
Revealing plans for 2018 in a blog post today, Playerunknown's Battlegrounds creative director Brendan Greene showed off the first-ever look at PUBG's third map.

New maps, ballistics, emotes, and custom game modes are coming to PUBG in 2018
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-maps-ballistics-emotes-and-custom-game-modes-are-coming-to-pubg-in-2018/
Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene revealed a roadmap for PUBG today, giving us a look at the future of the popular battle royale shooter in 2018. Among other things, the plan includes two new maps, more character customization and emotes, new vehicles and weapons, and an improved ballistics system—plus an experimental test server so players can get an early look at changes added to the game as well as an opportunity to deliver feedback on these changes to the developers.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Kickstarter stretch goals are still coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/kingdom-come-deliverance-kickstarter-stretch-goals-are-still-coming/
Kingdom Come: Deliverance began life as a Kickstarter way back in early 2014—a very successful Kickstarter, which as commonly happens in crowdfunding campaigns led to a slew of stretch goals. Many were achieved, including a playable female character at £600,000 and a dog companion at £1 million, yet they remain unrealized. That in itself isn't necessary a big deal, but it became an issue today when Polygon reported that Warhorse Studios "is unwilling to commit to fulfilling all of those goals," and refused to say which of them it would fulfill, and when.

Prey Twitter hints at an expansion set on the moon (Updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/prey-twitter-hints-at-an-expansion-set-on-the-moon/
Update: Another tease has appeared on Twitter, this one a still image of a facility that bears a strong resemblance to the Talos I station, but that appears to be set on the surface of the moon. That could suggest an entirely new location for an expansion, rather than the very grim-sounding Pytheas facility.

It's raining buffs in Destiny 2's massive 1.1.4 sandbox update, now detailed
https://www.pcgamer.com/its-raining-buffs-in-destiny-2s-massive-114-sandbox-update-now-detailed/
In Bungie's weekly update, Senior Crucible Designer Kevin Yanes and Design Lead Josh Hamrick discussed changes coming to the sandbox portion of Destiny 2 on March 27 as part of the 1.1.4 update. The gist: less popular weapons—mostly power weapons—are getting buffed to make them more useful, the Crucible is getting faster respawn and power ammo timers, competitive mode is doing away with the radar, Warlocks are getting a Dawnblade buff, Hunters' invisibility powers are getting nerfed, and the mods rework is still a work in progress.

Loot ancient relics as Cthulhu in co-op 2D platformer Temple of Spikes
https://www.pcgamer.com/loot-ancient-relics-as-cthulhu-in-co-op-2d-platformer-temple-of-spikes/
Temple of Spikes is a self-described "hardcore" 2D platformer about exploring a jungle temple which, you may have deduced, is filled with spikes. It's also filled with spiky bosses, priceless treasures, and fireballs. Also Cthulhu, provided you select him from the game's 25 playable characters, all of which have unique abilities according to developer Tigrido Inc.

Fight Lovecraftian Nazis in strategy game Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics
https://www.pcgamer.com/fight-lovecraftian-nazis-in-strategy-game-achtung-cthulhu-tactics/
First came the zombie. Then, the Nazi zombie, a natural progression for video games. And then, the ultimate: the flaming Nazi zombie. Auroch Digital, creator of upcoming strategy game Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics, reckons we can go even further by side-stepping zombies altogether. Enter the Lovecraftian Nazi. God help us if any of them are on fire.

Cities: Skylines celebrates its third anniversary with free Surviving Mars DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-celebrates-its-third-anniversary-with-free-surviving-mars-dlc/
Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive’s city builder, Cities: Skylines, turns three this weekend, on March 10. Paradox has also announced that 5 million copies have been sold on PC alone. To celebrate the anniversary and sales milestone, everyone’s getting free DLC inspired by Surviving Mars, the colony survival sim that’s due out on March 15.

Project C is a sci-fi MMO from Thief and Half-Life 2 designers
https://www.pcgamer.com/project-c-is-a-sci-fi-mmo-from-thief-and-half-life-2-designers/
Darewise, the company founded by Thief designer Randy Smith and Half-Life 2 artist Viktor Antonov, announced its first game this week, after switching from publishing to game development. It’s going by Project C at the moment, and it’s a single-shard sci-fi MMO.

BattleCry Studios is now Bethesda Game Studios Austin
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlecry-studios-is-now-bethesda-game-studios-austin/
BattleCry Studios, the developer behind the free-to-play action game of the same name, has joined Bethesda Game Studios as Bethesda Game Studios Austin. It was already a subsidiary of Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, but this change still raises a lot of questions about the future of BattleCry, which suspended development all the way back in 2015.

And now, the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• The daily deal is ECHO, 25% off: https://www.gog.com/game/echo
• The weekly sale: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180305_weekly_deal

+Steam

• Dungeons 3 is the first Steam deal for this weekend, with a 50% discount: http://store.steampowered.com/app/493900/Dungeons_3/
• Project CARS 2 is also on sale, and also 50% off (40% the Deluxe Edition): http://store.steampowered.com/app/378860/Project_CARS_2/
• Hearts of Iron IV is 60% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/394360/Hearts_of_Iron_IV/
• And last, but not least, 2K is the star in this publisher weekend, with up to 80% discounts: http://store.steampowered.com/sale/2k-publisher-weekend/

I didn't know there was an Army Men RTS game, does any of you know how it is? In any case, that's all for the news of this week. I hope you have a happy and gaming weekend.

"Gabe Newell: 'Hooray! Valve's going to start shipping games again'"
Yes.

"Now there's pretty much no project in the hardware space that we wouldn't be comfortable taking on. We can design chips if we need to, we can do industrial design, and so on. So that added to that."
Valve designed chips, hmm.
I'd love to see that.

I know you aren't... but please confirm me that you're not thinking about something too complex like a CPU or GPU.

Valve has around 300 employees.
I don't think Valve could enter the GPU / CPU market given their current size.
Unless they either: expand the company, or collaborate with an established designer (AMD, Nvidia, Intel, etc): I can't see them designing a complex CPU or GPU.

Controllers and co-processors should be a reachable target.
Stuff like their VR base-stations and controllers could benefit from custom hardware.

Good. You got me worried for a sec .

CPU and GPU are way out of reach. They would need to multiply their employes by tens if not hundreds.

But, as you said, chips for controllers or wifi (the Steam Link) could be doable.

Monday again. Time for the news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
2. Warhammer: Vermintide 2
3. FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION
4. NieR:Automata
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege - Year 3 Pass
6. FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION
7. Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger
8. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 - Collector's Edition
9. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
10. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 has sold 500K units in less than a week
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warhammer-vermintide-2-has-sold-500k-units-in-less-than-a-week/
Fatshark today announced that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 has surpassed 500,000 units sold just days after being released on PC. As the team revealed, 204 million minutes have been watched on Twitch and 50 billion enemies have been killed.

Astroneer gets 20 percent discount, dev diary shows off splitters and power system skill ceiling
https://www.pcgamer.com/astroneer-gets-20-percent-discount-dev-diary-shows-off-splitters-and-power-system-skill-ceiling/
Hot on the heels of its "biggest update to date", Astroneer is going cheap on Steam this week now through March 16. Its latest developer diary explores the latest iteration of splitters—heading to the sandbox adventure 'em up next week—and the power system skill ceiling.

>>Check it out at Steam.

Save big on Tyranny, Dying Light, Pillars of Eternity in GOG's St Patrick's Day Sale
https://www.pcgamer.com/save-big-on-tyranny-dying-light-pillars-of-eternity-in-gogs-st-patricks-day-sale/
Saint Paddy's Day, March 17, is a celebration best known for Irish music, drinking, shamrocks, drinking, Leprechauns, Guinness, and drinking. Digital games distributor GOG now throws videogames into the green-whirring festivities with its St Patrick's Day Sale—running now through March 19.
With savings of up to 90 percent on over 300 games, highlights from the limited-time discount period include parkour-meets-zombie stomper Dying Light, and high fantasy role-players Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity: Definitive Edition.

>>Because of that, there are no weekly or daily deals. Check out the rest of the games on sale at GOG.com

SOFTWARE

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

New Chrono Trigger mod removes the blurry filter from sprites, tilesets and worldmap
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-chrono-trigger-mod-removes-the-blurry-filter-from-sprites-tilesets-and-worldmap/
A few days ago, we informed you about a mod for Chrono Trigger that removed the bilinear filtering from it. However, and even though things got improved, this mod did not remove the filter that was applied to the tilesets and sprites. Thankfully, though, Steam user ‘Speedwagon’ released a new mod that removes that blurry filtering.
As the modder noted, this patch/mod is based on rescaled assets from the Steam version and to bring back the good old pixelly look of the game.

>>Get the mod from Steam.

New Final Fantasy XV mod improves TurfEffects grass, makes it taller
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-final-fantasy-xv-mod-improves-turfeffects-grass-makes-it-taller/
Reddit’s member ‘null-subject’ has released a new mod for Final Fantasy XV. This mod improves the TurfEffects grass by making it flatten quicker and stay flattened longer. Moreover, it introduces a variant that makes the grass taller.

This mod adds Fortnite's building tools to CS:GO
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-mod-adds-fortnites-building-tools-to-csgo/
If you're ever having a hard time retaking B on Inferno, just build a better sightline. Created by Kinsi55, creator of CS:GO battle royale mod Go 4 The Kill, this mod demonstrates what CS:GO would play like if you could build ramps and platforms as readily as you can in Fortnite Battle Royale.

MiniDoom 2 is a fan-made, sidescrolling take on the classic FPS
https://www.pcgamer.com/minidoom-2-is-a-fan-made-sidescrolling-take-on-the-classic-fps/
Two years ago I wrote about a Doom fan game which imagined the ye olde shooter as a sidescrolling, Metal Slug-esque platformer. Dubbed MiniDoom, studio Calavera described it as a "very short parody game". The concept must have stuck though, because but now they've gone ahead and released MiniDoom 2, a remake of the original described as "bigger, louder and more badass".

>>The game is available from its website or Itch.io.

GAMING NEWS

Kingdom Come: Deliverance – Patch 1.4 will improve performance on PC, will optimize multicore CPU support
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/kingdom-come-deliverance-patch-1-4-will-improve-performance-on-pc-will-optimize-multicore-cpu-support/
Even though Warhorse Studios released yesterday the highly anticipated patch 1.3 for Kingdom Come: Deliverance, its lead designer and co-founder, Daniel Vavra, revealed that the team is already working on the next patch.

State of Decay 2 will not feature any microtransactions
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/state-of-decay-2-will-not-feature-any-microtransactions/
During its latest official livestream, Undead Labs revealed that State of Decay 2 will not feature any microtransactions. This basically means that the game won’t feature any loot-boxes. However, the team did reveal that the game will receive expansions in the form of DLCs.

Tomb Raider 1, 2, 3 remasters are coming to Steam, will feature a new 3D engine, will be free to old owners
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tomb-raider-1-2-3-remasters-are-coming-to-steam-will-feature-a-new-3d-engine-will-be-free-to-old-owners/
Realtech VR has announced that it will release remastered versions of Tomb Raider 1, 2 and 3 on Steam. These remasters will be based on the mobile versions, will support OpenVR, will feature a new 3D engine, and will be free to all owners of these games.
As Realtech VR claimed, these remasters will require the purchase of the DOS version of each game being sold on Steam. In other words, think of these remasters as ZDoom which can play all Doom games.

>>Now I regret not buying them during the last sale .

Immortal: Unchained – First Impressions + 10 Minutes From Closed Alpha
https://www.dsogaming.com/first-impressions/immortal-unchained-first-impressions-10-minutes-from-closed-alpha/
Immortal: Unchained is an upcoming hardcore action-RPG sci-fi shooter that is set in a dark, sci-fi universe. The game is described as is described as a unique take on a well-known sub-genre, blending a third-person action shooter with a hardcore RPG. Toadman Interactive has provided with a closed alpha key for it and below you can read our first impressions of it.

Mount & Blade 2 now features Global Illumination, Compute Shader Skinning & Particle Shading
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mount-blade-2-now-features-global-illumination-compute-shader-skinning-particle-shading/
Taleworlds Entertainment has announced some technical new details about Mount & Blade 2. According to its developers, this upcoming medieval action RPG now features a new Global Illumination system which can correctly illuminate both static and dynamic objects.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will support mouse and keyboard on the PC, preliminary PC minimum specs
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-will-support-mouse-and-keyboard-on-the-pc-preliminary-pc-minimum-specs/
Activision has just revealed that the PC version of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will support mouse and keyboard. Moreover, the preliminary PC minimum requirements for the game have just been revealed via its Steam store page.

New Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy screenshots released
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-screenshots-released/
Activision has released a new set of screenshots for Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy features versions of Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped and dazzling “N. Hanced Fur-K” graphics. This collection comes with new lighting, animations, textures, models, and cinematics, as well as new recorded dialogue from original voice actors.

First Final Fantasy XV PC patch is now available, fixes framerate issues when using a summon
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-final-fantasy-xv-pc-patch-is-now-available-fixes-framerate-issues-when-using-a-summon/
Square Enix has just released the first PC patch for Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition. According to the Japanese company, this first patch addresses the bug that involved the Frame Rate Per Second decreasing after summoning an astral.

Monday news, part two:

Frostpunk's new 'Serenity' trailer reveals an April release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/frostpunks-new-serenity-trailer-reveals-an-april-release-date/
Developer 11 Bit Studios announced today that Frostpunk, the game about humanity's final, desperate bid for survival in a great frozen wasteland, will be out on April 24. To celebrate the launch date announcement, the studio also released a new cinematic teaser offering a gentle reminder of the risks of getting things wrong.

Orcs can get new spines in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth's barbers
https://www.pcgamer.com/orcs-can-get-new-spines-in-world-of-warcraft-battle-for-azeroths-barbers/
My very first character in World of Warcraft, back in 2005, was an Orc Hunter. I loved that big lug, but as guy who has had a few nasty back problems, his posture always worried me. Always with the hunching and slouching—it’s bad for you, you know. And it’s not all Orcs. When Thrall got a makeover, he also got excellent posture. But now it’s time for the rest of us. Yes, Orcs are getting new spines.

Cyan teases something in the works for the 25th anniversary of Myst
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyan-teases-something-in-the-works-for-the-25th-anniversary-of-myst/
Myst is one of my favorite games of all time and it deserves every plaudit it's received over the years, regardless of what this guy says. It's been 25 years, in fact: Myst was originally released in September 1993, meaning that its 25th anniversary is now about six months away. And it appears that developer Cyan isn't going to let it pass unremarked.

Here are Ni No Kuni 2's graphics options
https://www.pcgamer.com/here-are-ni-no-kuni-2s-graphics-options/
Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom is coming to PC, and it is beautiful. We're talking Studio Ghibli: The Game, even if Ghibli itself wasn't directly involved with this one like it was the original game. Developer Level 5 has done a great job bringing the same vibrant visuals to the sequel, and we're getting the prettiest version. That being said, Ni No Kuni 2 still isn't exactly overflowing with graphics settings. Bear in mind this is a preview build, so what you see is subject to change.

Star Wars: The Old Republic's lead writer heading up new studio working on episodic narrative game
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-the-old-republics-lead-writer-heading-up-new-studio-working-on-episodic-narrative-game/
The lead writer of Bioware's Star Wars MMORPG The Old Republic will head up a new studio called Fogbank Games, which is ultimately owned by 21st Century Fox. The media giant also owns film studio 20th Century Fox, and Fogbank's first project is an episodic narrative game inspired by one of the studio's franchises, which include The Simpsons, Alien, Home Alone and Die Hard. I'm looking forward to finding out which one.

Mass Effect lead writer Drew Karpyshyn leaves Bioware (again)
https://www.pcgamer.com/mass-effect-lead-writer-drew-karpyshyn-leaves-bioware-again-will-work-with-new-studio/
Drew Karpyshyn, the lead writer on both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, has left Bioware, and will be working with a new studio called Fogbank Games, which is headed up by another former Bioware lead writer, Daniel Erickson.
It's the second time Karpyshyn has departed Bioware: he left in 2012 to work on a series of novels, before returning in 2015 to continue working on Star Wars: The Old Republic and, later, Anthem.

>>He worked on Mass Effect 1 & 2, but not 3 nor Andromeda.

Fortnite Battle Royale will add loot llamas next week, plus Xbox One crossplay coming in future
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-battle-royale-will-add-loot-llamas-next-week-plus-xbox-one-crossplay-coming-in-future/
Epic Games announced this week that Fortnite is coming to mobile devices, with crossplay support between PC, iOS, Mac, PlayStation 4 and (later on) Android. Xbox One wasn't mentioned, but the developer has now confirmed that players on Microsoft's console won't be left out. Good news if you've got friends that play on Xbox One, then.

>>As it's usually the case with this kind of news on Monday, that next week is (or should be) this week.

Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition gets March 27 release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/neverwinter-nights-enhanced-edition-given-march-27-release-date/
The modern remaster of Bioware's third-person RPG Neverwinter Nights will release on Steam on March 27, Beamdog has announced. The developer—which is made up of former Bioware employees and handled the Enhanced Editions of Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment—revealed the release date in a livestream yesterday, where it also talked about how it will update the game going forward.

Snowy battle royale game Darwin Project sweeps into Early Access
https://www.pcgamer.com/snowy-battle-royale-game-darwin-project-sweeps-into-early-access/
Ten-player battle royale game Darwin Project has arrived on Steam Early Access, and developer Scavengers Studio plans to have the final game ready to go for the summer. The game, which is set in a snowy Canadian arena, leans heavily on social features, including a "show director" that watches over each match and can intervene on the action, along with ways for people watching on Twitch or Mixer to influence what's going on.

Chucklefish to publish space station sim Starmancer
https://www.pcgamer.com/chucklefish-to-publish-space-station-sim-starmancer/
Dwarf Fortress-inspired space sim Starmancer caught Austin's eye last month with its promise of modular space station building and deep colony management, and he wasn't the only one to take notice. Chucklefish Games, which published Stardew Valley, has picked up the project, it announced on Twitter this week.

Sci-fi action RPG Dolmen rolls onto Kickstarter next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/dolmen-looks-like-a-mashup-of-dead-space-and-dark-souls/
Sci-fi action RPG Dolmen is heading to Kickstarter next month, and I reckon it'll garner a fair amount of support. It's a mix of horror and heavy, deliberate third-person combat set on the strange alien world of Revion Prime. You awaken from a cryogenic slumber to discover that the rest of your crew is dead, and you have to venture out into the world alone.

Assassin's Creed Origins The Curse of the Pharaohs DLC has a launch trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-origins-the-curse-of-the-pharaohs-dlc-has-a-launch-trailer/
If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air, interactive history lessons and non-combative fare, you might fancy Assassin's Creed Origins' Discovery Mode. But if you prefer undead mummies, Anubis-esque guards, giant scorpions and shed loads of bloody murder, I reckon The Curse of the Pharaohs DLC is more your groove.

Gorgeous platformer Planet Alpha partners with Team17
https://www.pcgamer.com/gorgeous-platformer-planet-alpha-partners-with-team17/
Planet Alpha surfaced in 2013 as a side project of then IO Interactive employee Adrian Lazar. Fast forward five years, and the lovely-looking sidescroller has now partnered with Team17 and targets full release later this year.

I don't find the visuals to be "enhanced" enough to warrant a 3rd purchase.

I personally believe the game needs a full on remaster/remake.