I don't like the new design either.

Friday news!

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

The Witcher 3 PC vs PS4 vs Xbox One sale percentages revealed for 2015, 2016 and 2017
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witcher-3-pc-vs-ps4-vs-xbox-one-sale-percentages-revealed-for-2015-2016-and-2017/
During its fiscal year 2017 financial presentation, CD Projekt RED’s Piotr Nielubowicz, revealed the sale percentages for The Witcher 3 per platform in the past three years. According to the graph, the PC version has surpassed each console version in 2016 and 2017.

>>PC Sales = 31% in 2015; 43% in 2016; 50% in 2017.

GDC's 'realistic' talk about game sales on Steam paints a grim picture
https://www.pcgamer.com/gdcs-realistic-talk-about-game-sales-on-steam-paints-a-grim-picture/
"So here's the thing. In February, around 850 games launched on Steam, which is about 40 a day," said Mike Rose, the indie publisher behind downhill biking game Descenders. "About 82 percent of those didn't even make minimum wage ... by this I mean, the money that came out of 82 percent of the games that came out on Steam would not support a singular person on American minimum wage, which I had to Google."

>>Because of too many games to choose from or because there's too many garbage?

The top 100 games on Steam made 50% of the total money in 2017, according to SteamSpy
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-top-100-games-on-steam-made-50-of-the-total-money-in-2017-according-to-steamspy/
During a panel at GDC about the latest data scraped from Steam’s public user profiles by SteamSpy, owner and operator Sergey Galyonkin stated that around 50% of the total revenue earned on Steam was made by the top 100 games available on Valve’s popular digital marketplace.
Those 100 games made up 0.5% of all titles available on Steam in 2017, which was a landmark year in what is sure to be a continuing trend for the amount of games released on the service. 7,696 games were released on Steam in 2017, and, holy shit, that’s 39% of the over 21,000 games available on the service today.

F1 2015 is free on the Humble Store
https://www.pcgamer.com/f1-2015-is-free-on-the-humble-store/
The Humble Store has kicked off weekend sales on Bethesda and Codemasters games, and to attract your interest (and hopefully your attention) it's giving away the Codies racing sim F1 2015 for the next two days.
You might say that F1 2015 is "weird," and in fact we did say that in our review. We called it "the best representation of F1 racing to date," but hit it with a middling 61/100 score because of a "lack of content, unstable multiplayer suite, and unchanged foundations." It's been patched and updated a number of times since then, which has presumably improved the experience, and also it's free. Hard to go wrong at that price.

Edith Finch, Oxenfree, Gorogoa going cheap in GOG's Greatest Stories sale
https://www.pcgamer.com/edith-finch-oxenfree-gorogoa-going-cheap-in-gogs-greatest-stories-sale/
This weekend George Stobart, Geralt of Rivia and Edith Finch join forces in (unfortunately not the best night out ever conceived) GOG's Greatest Stories sale. Running now through March 26 at 1pm PST/9pm BST, those interested can save up to 85 percent on story-heavy games—not least Broken Sword (£0.99/$1.19), The Witcher 3 (£12.49/$16.44) and What Remains of Edith Finch (£8.99/$11.82).

>>You'll find them over here.

SOFTWARE

Twitch Prime lets Final Fantasy 15 players claim purple chocobo and 10,000 gil
https://www.pcgamer.com/twitch-prime-lets-final-fantasy-15-players-claim-free-purple-chocobo-and-10000-gil/
Twitch has spent the last several months incentivising its premium Prime service by offering its members free stuff. Monthly games, Fortnite cosmetics and now Final Fantasy 15 goodies can be claimed—the latter of which includes a new ride and some in-game cash.

PUBG viewers can win free KFC chicken dinners this weekend on Twitch
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-viewers-can-win-free-kfc-chicken-dinners-this-weekend-on-twitch/
This weekend, KFC is teaming with Twitch and several PUBG streamers to give viewers a chance to win free chicken dinners by using a 'KFC bucket emote' in chat. I'll let the press release I received do the heavy work:

>>The article will be updated with more details about the gift cards... or if it will be available outside the US (which I doubt).

MODS/EMULATORS

The Playstation version of Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown finds its way to the PC thanks to this mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-playstation-version-of-duke-nukem-total-meltdown-find-its-way-to-the-pc-thanks-to-this-mod/
Back in 1997, GT Interactive released a special version of Duke Nukem 3D in the original Playstation, called Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown. While this version suffered from major performance issues, it also came with some new levels and re-designed sprites. And modder ‘Fox_666’ has just released a total conversion mod for Duke Nukem 3D that brings all the content of the Total Meltdown PSX version to it.

>>The mod is available from ModDB.

Dark Souls 'Bonewheels Everywhere' mod is as horrifying as it sounds
https://www.pcgamer.com/dark-souls-bonewheels-everywhere-mod-is-as-horrifying-as-it-sounds/
Against my ever-growing backlog, I probably shouldn't play Dark Souls Remastered.
Inadvertent rant aside, PC mods have elevated the original game to the point where I'm unsure how, or indeed if, the remaster can better what we already have. Uninspired by the latest batch of PS4 screens (cheers, WccfTech), I checked Nexus Mods on the off-chance new visual overhaul mods had popped up since I last checked.
I instead found horkrux's Bonewheels Everywhere. As the name suggests, this mod adds one of the game's most irritating, volatile and health-devouring-if-you-misjudge-their-movement-patterns enemies to all areas of Lordran.

GAMING NEWS

Metro Exodus – NVIDIA RTX Real-Time Raytracing GDC 2018 Tech Demo Video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/metro-exodus-nvidia-rtx-real-time-raytracing-gdc-2018-tech-demo-video/
4A Games has released its GDC 2018 tech demo video for Metro: Exodus, showcasing the newly implemented NVIDIA RTX real-time raytracing effects. 4A Games has utilized true raytracing to render both Ambient Occlusion and Indirect Lighting in full real-time, in a practical in-game scenario, however the YouTube compression in this particular video is really awful and makes it hard to notice the improvements.

New Final Fantasy XV update adds support for AMD Phenom II processors, fixes performance degradation
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-final-fantasy-xv-update-adds-support-for-amd-phenom-ii-processors-fixes-performance-degradation/
Square Enix has released a brand new update for Final Fantasy XV. According to the release notes, this patch adds support for AMD Phenom II processors and fixes some bug issues with NVIDIA’s Ansel tech. Furthermore, this patch also – partially – fixes the performance degradation issues we’ve already reported.

Behaviour Interactive details new roadmap of updates for Dead by Daylight
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/behaviour-interactive-details-new-roadmap-of-updates-for-dead-by-daylight/
Behaviour Interactive has shared its roadmap for all the new content updates that will be coming to Dead by Daylight. Since launch, the development team brought in 8 new survivors, 8 new killers, and 11 new maps set in 8 new locations. Moreover, it added a bunch of features players had been asking for like “survive with friends” modes, seasonal events, the shrine of secrets and a lot of new languages.

Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition announced, will be free to all PC owners of the original
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/space-hulk-deathwing-enhanced-edition-announced-will-be-free-to-all-pc-owners-of-the-original/
Focus Home Interactive has announced that an Enhanced Edition of Space Hulk: Deathwing will be released on May 22nd and will be free to all PC owners of the original game. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also released a new trailer that you can view below.

Here are 45 minutes of gameplay footage from the alpha version of The Bard’s Tale IV
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-45-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-the-alpha-version-of-the-bards-tale-iv/
inXile Entertainment has released an alpha version of its upcoming classic fantasy RPG, The Bard’s Tale IV, to its Kickstarter backers and YouTube’s ‘Retcon Raider’ has shared a video showing 45 minutes of gameplay footage from it. In addition, inXile has announced that this new Bard’s Tale game will be called The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep.

Friday news, part two:

Road trip simulator Jalopy reaches full release next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/road-trip-simulator-jalopy-reaches-full-release-next-week/
Jalopy is a lovely road trip simulator that wheels players around the territories of the former Eastern Bloc. It's been in Early Access since April 2016, and has now set March 28, this Wednesday, for full release.

What Remains of Edith Finch studio's next game is about 'the enchanting beauty of animal locomotion'
https://www.pcgamer.com/what-remains-of-edith-finch-studios-next-game-is-about-the-enchanting-beauty-of-animal-locomotion/
During a GDC panel about how the team at Giant Sparrow used 13 different game prototypes to provide the foundation for What Remains of Edith Finch's story (our favorite of 2017), Creative Director Ian Dallas revealed what their next game will be about.

What should Ubisoft do with Tachanka, Rainbow Six Siege's worst character?
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-siege-tachanka/
If you're Ubisoft, what do you do with a character like Tachanka in a competitive shooter? Game director Leroy Athanassoff addressed that question in the Q&A portion of a panel at the Game Developers Conference yesterday in San Francisco.

Two more Hearthstone: The Witchwood cards have been revealed
https://www.pcgamer.com/two-more-hearthstone-the-witchwood-cards-have-been-revealed/
Yesterday Blizzard said that Hearthstone: The Witchwood card reveals would kick off next week. Today, senior designer Peter Whalen blew that nice, neat schedule out of the water by revealing a pair of new cards in the expansion as part of a dive into the process of creating the new Echo keyword.

We have two cards from The Elder Scrolls: Legends – Houses of Morrowind to reveal
https://www.pcgamer.com/we-have-two-cards-from-the-elder-scrolls-legends-houses-of-morrowind-to-reveal/
The next expansion to Bethesda's CCG The Elder Scrolls: Legends will be called Houses of Morrowind, and as the title suggests it will feature the sights, sounds, and strangeness of the ancestral homeland of the Dunmer. Ahead of its release at the end of the month, we've got a couple of new cards to reveal for you, one of which really emphasizes the "strangeness" of the game world it's based on.

Oxygen Not Included update adds 'critter ranching'
https://www.pcgamer.com/oxygen-not-included-update-adds-critter-ranching/
Oxygen Not Included is a sci-fi management sim about clones building an underground base inside in asteroid, currently in Early Access. Since it's from Klei, the makers of Don't Starve, you know it involves very bad things happening to those clones, or Duplicants as they call them, but the latest update seems to add something nice for those poor Dupes: pets.

Major game companies are teaming up to combat toxicity in gaming
https://www.pcgamer.com/major-game-companies-are-teaming-up-to-combat-toxicity-in-gaming/
(...)more than 30 major gaming companies, including Blizzard, Riot, CCP, Twitch, Discord and Epic are teaming up to tackle the problem collectively through an organization called the Fair Play Alliance. The hope is that by sharing research, lessons learned, and best practices, the companies will be able to develop a better understanding of why toxicity happens, how to deal with toxic players, and most of all, how to stop toxicity from happening in the first place.

Cyberpunk 2077 will have character classes, multiplayer still uncertain
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-will-have-character-classes-multiplayer-still-uncertain/
During a recent 2017 financial results debrief, CD Projekt president Adam Kiciński revealed a few telling details about Cyberpunk 2077. And while the company isn't prepared to spill the whole beans just yet, we now know that the futuristic RPG will have character classes, rather than a single protagonist, ala The WItcher's Geralt of Rivia, aka the bath haver.

Afterparty, the game about outdrinking Satan, gets a debut trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/afterparty-the-game-about-outdrinking-satan-gets-a-debut-trailer/
How much does Satan drink? And if Satan does drink, does that mean that we're allowed a quiet beer in hell? Neither are questions we can know for sure, but in Afterparty, the new game by Oxenfree studio Night School, it's your goal to drink more than Satan in order to get out of hell. Sounds like a win-win situation?

China plays over twice as much PUBG per week than the USA, according to SteamSpy
https://www.pcgamer.com/china-plays-over-twice-as-much-pubg-per-week-than-the-usa-according-to-steamspy/
During a panel at GDC all about the interesting metrics SteamSpy spits out, creator and owner Sergey Galyonkin (also Head of Publishing for Eastern Europe at Epic Games) shared all sorts of data scraped from the public-facing user profiles of Steam.

Classic board game Catan gets reimagined in VR
https://www.pcgamer.com/classic-board-game-catan-gets-reimagined-in-vr/
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game that was first launched in 1995. It's since received a number of expansions, tie-ins, and videogame offshoots—not least a mobile version for Nokia's N-Gage in 2005, and a handheld variation for the Nintendo DS in 2009.
(...) In 2018, however, Catan VR marks the game's first venture into virtual reality and invites players to build, trade, and acquire resources on the eponymous island itself.

Nightdive talks System Shock remake's change in direction, expects release 'probably Q1 of 2020'
https://www.pcgamer.com/nightdive-talks-system-shock-remakes-change-in-direction-expects-release-probably-q1-of-2020/
System Shock is still coming. In February, we reported that Nightdive Studios' remake of System Shock was on hiatus as the developers reassessed the project, deciding it had diverged too far from the original vision: a direct modernization of the 1994 game. At GDC on Thursday, I met with Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick and business development director Larry Kuperman, who spoke candidly about where the project went wrong and where it stands now.

Ok now, time to check GOG and Steam:

+GOG

Besides the sale mentioned in the first post of today's news, there are 3 more deals for us:

• The daily sale features Rune Classic, 80% off: https://www.gog.com/game/rune_classic
• The weekly sale, with games like Transistor, FEZ, Stealth Inc 2, Day of the Tentacle Remastered, etc. up to 85% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180319_weekly_sale
• And the Close Combat sale to celebrate the arrival of new titles to the store: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180320_close_combat_tiein

+Steam

• The Elder Scrolls Online is free to try this weekend, and the game plus Morrowind is 33% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/306130/The_Elder_Scrolls_Online/
• To mark the start of the F1 season, F1 2017 is also free to try this weekend and 70% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/515220/F1_2017/
• The SEGA Sports Bundle is on sale with three (or maybe only one) games that can interest you: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/251443/
• Ubisoft is the star of the publisher weekend sale. Lots and lots of games go on sale: http://store.steampowered.com/sale/ubisoft_weekend/
• And of course, the weekly sale, featuring I don't know how many games. Check them out here... if the link works for you.

And just like the Looney Toons say, "That's all folks!". Have a happy and gaming weekend.

"GDC's 'realistic' talk about game sales on Steam paints a grim picture"
Time to prepare for war, I guess.

"The Witcher 3 PC vs PS4 vs Xbox One sale percentages revealed for 2015, 2016 and 2017"
">>PC Sales = 31% in 2015; 43% in 2016; 50% in 2017."
Thanks!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/583950/Artifact/
Valve's new game Artifact has its Steam store page.
Hopefully it reveals information about Source 2's capabilities.

A new Monday, a new round of news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
2. Warhammer: Vermintide 2
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Far Cry 5
5. Assassin's Creed Origins
6. Far Cry 5
7. Assassin's Creed Origins
8. Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom
9. FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION
10. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

The XCOM 2 Collection, which includes the game and all the DLCs, including War of the Chosen, is 70% off at Fanatical: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/xcom-2-collection

And at GOG, we have the new daily and weekly sales:

• The daily deal involves the game Tempest and its DLCs: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180326_daily_deal_tempest
• The weekly sale, dubbed Long Time no See, included games that haven't been on sale at the store for a while. Some of its game are The Long Dark, Door Kickers, Pizza Tycoon 1 & 2 and more up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180326_weekly_sale

SOFTWARE

The Witness and Wasteland 2 added to Origin Access
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-witness-and-wasteland-2-added-to-origin-access-subscription-service/
EA opened up its Origin Access subscription service to other publishers earlier this month by ushering Batman through its doors, and now the next round of games has arrived. The Witness, Wasteland 2, Out of the Park Baseball 19 and Lost Castle have been added to the service, which lets you play a catalogue of games for $5/£4 a month—it's like a Netflix for gaming, albeit with a fairly limited library.

MODS/EMULATORS

RPCS3, the best Playstation 3 emulator, received huge rendering improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/rpcs3-the-best-playstation-3-emulator-receives-huge-rendering-improvements/
The team behind the best Playstation 3 emulator, RPCS3, has announced some new and huge rendering improvements that it has implemented to its emulator. As the development team noted, kd-11 has re-written the Texture Instructions, allowing texture inputs to use the srgb colorspace (which basically fixed Bloom and Shadows in all Unreal Engine 3 titles).

Mega Man Maker 1.3 is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mega-man-maker-1-3-is-now-available-for-download/
WreckingPrograms has released a brand new version of Mega Man Maker. As its title suggests, Mega Man Maker let’s you create your own Mega Man levels, and is available for free to all PC gamers.

>>If you want it, go to its official website.

4K highly detailed and realistic terrain/landscape textures released for Skyrim
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/4k-highly-detailed-and-realistic-terrain-landscape-textures-released-for-skyrim/
Modder ‘MystiriousDawn Pfuscher’ some really detailed and realistic terrain/landscape textures for Skyrim Special Edition. As its title suggets, HD Ground Textures replaces the vanilla super blurry textures with crisp realistic ones.

>>Available from Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

New Kingdom Come: Deliverance patch adds support for NVIDIA Ansel and Shadowplay
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-kingdom-come-deliverance-patch-adds-support-for-nvidia-ansel-and-shadowplay/
Warhorse Studios has released a brand new patch for Kingdom Come: Deliverance that adds support for NVIDIA Ansel and Shadowplay. In addition, this patch fixes some random encounters bugs.

God Eater 3 has been confirmed for the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/god-eater-3-has-been-confirmed-for-the-pc/
During the livestream for God Eater’s eighth anniversary, Bandai Namco officially confirmed that God Eater 3 will be coming to the PC. The publisher has also released a new trailer, which confirms the PC version, that you can view below.

Electronic Arts may be working on a new open-world Star Wars game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/electronic-arts-may-be-working-on-a-new-open-world-star-wars-game/
It appears that Electronic Arts may be working on a new open-world Star Wars game. According to a job listing on EA’s site, the big publisher is looking for a Lead Online Engineer who will lead a team to deliver online features for a Star Wars Open World project.

Steins;Gate 0 is coming to the PC on May 8th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/steinsgate-0-is-coming-to-the-pc-on-may-8th/
During its GDC 2018 presentation, Spike Chunsoft announced that Steins;Gate 0 will be coming to the PC. According to the publisher, this sequel to the award-winning time travel science fiction interactive visual novel will hit Steam on May 8th.

Ghost of a Tale receives its biggest update, resolves the vast majority of bugs
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ghost-of-a-tale-receives-its-biggest-update-resolves-the-vast-majority-of-bugs/
SeithCG has released the biggest update for Ghost of a Tale. According to the release notes, this patch enables the ambient sounds in the catacombs, harbor, great hall and shore, a bug that forced the camera to be too close to Tilo after reloading a save, and improves sounds during dialogs.

New Gundam Breaker is coming to the PC on June 22nd
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-gundam-breaker-is-coming-to-the-pc-on-june-22nd/
Back in February, we informed you about the possibility of the new Gundam Breaker game coming to the PC. And it appears that we were right. Bandai Namco’s official Twitter account has revealed that the game will be coming to the PC on June 22nd.

Here are the first WIP screenshots for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ new island
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/here-are-the-first-wip-screenshots-for-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-new-island/
NVIDIA and Bluehole have revealed the first WIP screenshots for the new island that will be coming to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. This map will be 4x4km, meaning that it will be a much smaller map and should give players all a much more intense and faster paced Battle Royale experience.

New trailer for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire showcases its key features
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-trailer-for-pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire-showcases-its-key-features/
Obsidian Entertainment, in partnership with Versus Evil, today revealed their new ‘features’ trailer for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. In this trailer, we get a sneak peek of the new adventure that awaits us in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, sequel to the award-winning, party-based RPG Pillars of Eternity.

Monday news, the long part two:

Arma 3: Laws of War DLC raises $177,000 for the Red Cross
https://www.pcgamer.com/arma-3-laws-of-war-dlc-raises-dollar177000-for-the-red-cross/
The Arma 3: Laws of War DLC that debuted last year promised "a different perspective on the battlefield," by kitting out players not as soldiers but as members of the International Development and Aid Projection. (...)
It doesn't sound like the most action-packed DLC of all time but even so it's become the highest-rated Arma 3 on Steam, and as promised by developer Bohemia Interactive when it was announced, it's also resulted in a donation of $176,667 to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

There's apparently a mission to find Trump's rumored 'pee tape' in Far Cry 5
https://www.pcgamer.com/theres-apparently-a-mission-to-find-trumps-rumored-pee-tape-in-far-cry-5/
Reports that Donald Trump allegedly hired Russian prostitutes to urinate on a bed that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama once slept in at the Moscow Ritz Carlton first surfaced in 2017 as part of a dossier collated by a British ex-intelligence officer called Christoper Steele. Now there's a sentence I hoped I'd never have to write on a videogame website. Unfortunately, Far Cry 5 appears to have a side-mission in which you recover the tape for a government handler. So here I am, writing about it. Spoilers follow, I guess.

Boomer, the Far Cry 5 dog, can be healed by rubbing his tummy
https://www.pcgamer.com/boomer-the-far-cry-5-dog-can-be-healed-by-rubbing-his-tummy/
Digital doggo deaths were so heartbreaking/enraging that Bethesda made Dogmeat unkillable in Fallout 4, and Ubisoft has elected to do the same thing with Boomer, the furry friend of Far Cry 5. He will go down when things get hairy, but PR rep Alex Monney said on Twitter today that a little bit of affection will bring him right back.

Final episode of government snooping sim Orwell: Ignorance is Strength is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-episode-of-government-snooping-sim-orwell-ignorance-is-strength-is-out-now/
The third and final episode of government surveillance game Orwell: Ignorance is Strength is out now, and might be worth peeking at if you're into text-based puzzlers, or if you like the theme of state overreach and propaganda. The game has you trawl through phone transcripts, computer files, websites and news articles to uncover the truth about Raban Vhart, a dissident journalist. What sets it apart is that by compiling information 'chunks' in particular ways you can bend the truth and influence the story, which has multiple branches.

Watch first gameplay from Bad Blood, Dying Light's standalone battle royale-style mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-first-gameplay-from-bad-blood-dying-lights-standalone-battle-royale-style-mode/
Bad Blood is an upcoming expansion to zombie masher Dying Light that's inspired by Battle Royale games—six players are dumped in a city arena and asked to fight through zombies to reach an extraction chopper, all the while keeping their eyes peeled for other humans. Developer Techland unveiled it last year following "numerous fan requests", and now it's shown off ten minutes of the game in action.

Overwatch players can now avoid toxic or uncooperative teammates
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-players-can-now-avoid-toxic-or-uncooperative-teammates/
Today Blizzard unveiled an update to Overwatch's reporting features that aims to "help players create a better and more positive gameplay experience."
"If you use the 'Avoid as Teammate' option on a player, that action will be effective in the next match," said Overwatch's Scott Mercer in a forum post. "The matchmaker will no longer place you on a team with the avoided player for one week. Sometimes you don’t want to play with someone as a teammate because you disagree with their playstyle or hero choice. Sometimes your personalities or communication style simply clash. These can happen without either party being toxic."

Overwatch is testing nerfs to D.Va and Zenyatta, buffs for Reaper and Mei
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-is-testing-nerfs-to-dva-and-zenyatta-buffs-for-reaper-and-mei/
Blizzard is testing a handful of hero balance changes on the latest Overwatch PTR, including nerfs for the super-popular D.Va and Zenyatta, while the underperforming Reaper and Mei get some buffs.

Ni No Kuni 2 developer teases 'MMORPG-scale' game set in modern day
https://www.pcgamer.com/ni-no-kuni-2-developer-teases-large-scale-rpg-set-in-the-modern-world/
Japanese developer Level-5 made a hell of a debut on PC this week with Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, a sprawling fantasy JRPG built around a deep kingdom building sim. If you're into the genre then you should play it (read https://www.pcgamer.com/ni-no-kuni-2-revenant-kingdom-review/" target="_blank">Austin's review to find out why). Following the game's release the developer's president, Akihiro Hino, gave a first hint at what the company is working on next—a game set in the modern day with a massive world to explore.

Promising VR stealth game Budget Cuts gets May release date, will take 8 hours to complete
https://www.pcgamer.com/promising-vr-stealth-game-budget-cuts-gets-may-release-will-take-8-hours-to-complete/
Budget Cuts is a VR stealth game about teleporting around tight environments and smacking robots over the head with office supplies. Based on a free demo and what we saw of the game back in 2016, we named it on our list of most promising VR games, and now it's been given a full release date: May 16.

A new X-Files game is in the works
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-x-files-game-is-in-the-works/
A new game based on The X-Files is in the works, according to series creator Chris Carter. All we know is that it will be a "narrative" game (which could mean anything, really)—he slipped the news into an interview about the end of series 11 of the TV show, and wasn't pressed on it further. No doubt we'll find out more soon.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon creative director leaves Ubisoft after his latest project is cancelled
https://www.pcgamer.com/far-cry-3-blood-dragon-creative-director-leaves-ubisoft-after-his-latest-project-is-cancelled/
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon creative director Dean Evans has left Ubisoft after 12 years at the developer. He's worked across the Far Cry, Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed series, and was most recently working on a new game that Ubisoft has now cancelled. Following that cancellation, the company offered him a job in Paris, but he declined and will instead look to set up his own studio after taking a break from the industry.

Far Cry 5 has a secret ending you can find in the first 10 minutes
https://www.pcgamer.com/far-cry-5-secret-ending/
Just like Far Cry 4 gave you an early way out, Far Cry 5 also has a secret ending you can find within the first 10 minutes.

>>That's all I can post of the article without going into spoilers.

EA shows off self-teaching AI bots that have trained in Battlefield 1 for six days
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-shows-off-self-teaching-ai-bots-that-have-trained-in-battlefield-1-for-six-days/
Electronic Arts has begun testing self-teaching bots in Battlefield 1 in an attempt to find the next big leap forward in gaming AI. Partly inspired by Google's Deepmind AI, the project involved EA's SEED division showing the 'agents' 30 minutes of human play (which they could imitate later on) before setting them loose in the game for six days of self-teaching.

GTA Online players claim multiple unfair bans following latest update
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-players-report-multiple-unfair-bans-following-latest-update/
The GTA Online community reports multiple PC players received 30-day banning orders this weekend. The bans are said to be tied to the game's Southern San Andreas Super Sports Series update—with many players suggesting they've done nothing wrong.

Far Cry 5 launch trailer shows off cults, guns, dogs, bears
https://www.pcgamer.com/far-cry-5-launch-trailer-flaunts-cults-guns-dogs-bears/
After months of teasing cults and bears and arms-fetching dogs that can be healed by rubbing their tummy, Far Cry 5 arrives tomorrow. To mark the occasion, it has a launch trailer.
Cue southern accents, fantastic moustachery, crossbows and 'splosions. Lots and lots of 'splosions.

Overkill's The Walking Dead dev diary explores apocalyptic Georgetown
https://www.pcgamer.com/overkills-the-walking-dead-dev-diary-explores-apocalyptic-georgetown/
Overkill's The Walking Dead, the upcoming four-player co-op zombie FPS, has released a developer diary showcasing the neighborhood of Georgetown in Washington D.C.. You can watch it above, as producer Saul Gascon and a few lighting and environmental artists describe what went into designing the look and feel of the town in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.

PUBG is 'considering' region-locked servers, adds new skin system and crates
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-is-considering-region-locked-servers-adds-new-skin-system-and-crates/
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' latest test build introduces a new weapon skin system and new cosmetic crates. Developer PUBG Corp is also contemplating a version of region-locked servers.

Pretty much. I've been watching the industry trying to paint a picture over the past year. There have been more stories cropping up about Switch indie success, while also at the same time putting mentions of less sales on Steam, which is pretty much telling us something from a select group (I say select, because Steam is still selling games decently, only a few indie devs are doing this sort of complaining). 

I wonder why said devs and journo's aren't moving an inch to complain about the lack of indie support Origin has, let alone Uplay, or how GoG has the tightest of curation and has a smaller library size than Steam itself (not including the garbage asset flipped titles, only the good games). I still think that this is just one big whipped up storm created by a few who want that easy gold mine to work out for them, at the behest of one company they thought was going to deliver to them on a silver platter at all times.

Like people have said on that Resetera thread, Steam isn't there to pay and do all the marketing for you. it is a store that sells games, not handle publishing rights, marketing and other kinds of tasks that large third party pubs take under their wing. Indie devs that rely soley on just one social network and a single youtube video to market their game just aren't doing a good enough job, and have only themselves to blame. 

I never even knew about that Blossom game until everyone started boasting about the sales it got on Switch, which just shows that the devs didn't do a good job at marketing it on PC. There was next to no word of mouth about it going around the net, certainly nowhere near the same level for what Starbound, Minecraft, Stardew and Cities Skylines got. It also didn't help that the game looked like something straight out of RPG maker and being another Zelda clone. 

Nvidia's GTC 2018 will take place today, and will be live streamed as usual for those that want to see it:

*Edit*

I can't seem to be able to embeed it, so here's the link to the stream: https://www.ustream.tv/gpu-technology-conference

Tuesday news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Killing Floor hits 5 million sales, new free content released for Killing Floor 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/killing-floor-hits-5-million-sales-new-free-content-released-for-killing-floor-2/
Tripwire Interactive has announced that Killing Floor has surpassed over 5 million units sold worldwide. In addition, the team has released a brand new free content update for Killing Floor 2, Killing Floor 2: Infinite Onslaught.

The Darkness 2 is now available for free on Humble Bundle for the next 48 hours
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-darkness-2-is-now-available-for-free-on-humble-bundle-for-the-next-48-hours/
Hunble Bundle is currently offering free copies of The Darkness 2 for the next 48 hours. The Darkness 2 is an intense first person shooter that – according to its description – delivers a twisted and gripping narrative of tragedy, modern crime drama, and supernatural horror.

>>Grab it from here.

At GOG, there are a couple new sales:

• The daily sale involves the games Dungeons 2 & 3, as well as the DLCs of the former: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180327_daily_deal_dungeons
• There's a special Interplay sale that will last the whole week. Games like Descent, Earthworm Jim, MDK, etc are on sale up to 66% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180327_interplay_special

And there's also Steam with its 790, 788 ...**takes deep breath** with its weeklong deals. And, among those, here are some examples:

• Railway Empire is 15% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/503940/Railway_Empire/
• Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is 33% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/418240/Shadow_Tactics_Blades_of_the_Shogun/
• Rocket League is 40% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/252950/Rocket_League/
• EVERSPACE is also 40% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/396750/EVERSPACE/
• Space Engineers, still on Early Access, is 60% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/244850/Space_Engineers/
• Yooka-Laylee is 66% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/360830/YookaLaylee/
• La Mulana is 70% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/230700/LaMulana/
• And lastly, Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide is on sale, again, 75% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/235540/Warhammer_End_Times__Vermintide/

SOFTWARE

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 18.3.4 driver is now available, optimized for Far Cry 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-adrenalin-18-3-4-driver-is-now-available-optimized-for-far-cry-5/
AMD has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Adrenalin 18.3.4 driver is optimized Ubisoft’s latest open-world title, Far Cry 5.

>>Available from here.

NVIDIA GeForce 391.35 WHQL driver is available, optimized for Far Cry 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-391-35-whql-driver-is-available-optimized-for-far-cry-5/
NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 391.35 WHQL driver provides the optimal gaming experience for Far Cry 5, and adds/updates the SLI profiles for GRIP and WRC 7.

>>Available from here.

MODS/EMULATORS

Super Mario 64: Ocarina of Time is a free fan-game that is available for download right now
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/super-mario-64-ocarina-of-time-is-a-free-fan-game-that-is-available-for-download-right-now/
Kaze Emanuar, the talented man behind some incredible projects such as Super Mario 64 Online, Sonic Adventure: Last Impact and Super Mario 64 First-Person, has released a new fan-game that aims to bring together the characters of Super Mario 64 with the storyline and the world of Ocarina of Time.
As with all fan-games, this is completely free and anyone can download and play it. Do note, however, that you will need a Nintendo 64 emulator. You will also need to enable 8MB ram in the emulators settings or it will only give you a black screen.

>>If you're interested, here's the download link.

GAMING NEWS

First gameplay trailer released for New Gundam Breaker
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-trailer-released-for-new-gundam-breaker/
Bandai Namco has confirmed that New Gundam Breaker will be coming to the PC on June 22nd, and released its first gameplay trailer. This trailer will give you an idea of what you can expect from it.

Turn-based tactical combat game, Battletech, releases on April 24th, gets a Story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/turn-based-tactical-combat-game-battletech-releases-on-april-24th-gets-a-story-trailer/
Paradox Interactive and Harebrained Schemes today announced that BATTLETECH, the first turn-based tactical ‘Mech combat PC game in over 20 years, will be available on April 24th. To celebrate the forthcoming launch, the publisher released the game’s cinematic story trailer that you can watch below.

Tuesday news, part two:

Here's every new Hearthstone: The Witchwood card revealed so far
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-witchwood-cards/
Today Blizzard gave us our first big batch of cards from the upcoming Hearthstone expansion The Witchwood. We've already seen the new keywords Echo and Rush, as well as a handful of cards that gain bonuses for filling your deck with only even- and odd-cost cards. In a card reveal livestream today, we saw cards like Rebuke, a 2-mana Paladin spell with Loatheb's effect, as well as the new Shaman hero card, Hagatha the Witch.

Bungie developer video dives into the reasons for Destiny 2's 'Go Fast' update
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-developer-video-dives-into-the-reasons-for-destiny-2s-go-fast-update/
The Destiny 2 1.1.4 update coming tomorrow will rain buffs upon us, as we noted earlier this month: Faster Crucible respawns, more accessible power ammo, quicker ability cooldowns, and of course upgraded guns—because at the end of the day, it's all about the firepower. In a video released ahead of that update, design lead Josh Hamrick talked a bit about why the studio is taking the game in this direction.

The Good Life, Swery's weird dogs-and-cats murder mystery, is now on Kickstarter
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-good-life-swerys-weird-dogs-and-cats-murder-mystery-is-now-on-kickstarter/
The Fig crowdfunding campaign for The Good Life, a strange adventure about life, death, and debt repayment in a small English town where people turn into dogs and cats at night, finished with $682,000 in backing, less than half of its $1.5 million goal. But creator Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro pledged to try again on Kickstarter, and today that new, somewhat different effort sprang to life.

Ghost of a Tale update makes it 'what it should have been' from the start
https://www.pcgamer.com/ghost-of-a-tale-update-makes-it-what-it-should-have-been-from-the-start/
It's been a couple of weeks since the release of the stealth RPG Ghost of a Tale, the story of a mouse minstrel in a medieval dungeon on a quest to reunite with his true love. The game is now "what it should have been right from the start," developer SeithCG says, courtesy of the update that was released over the weekend, which clears up "the vast majority of the remaining bugs."

Hollow Knight: Lifeblood update is now available in public beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/hollow-knight-lifeblood-update-is-now-available-in-public-beta/
Hollow Knight will get a new update soon, but if you're keen to get aboard early you can partake in a public beta right now. In addition to a few fixes and tweaks, the Lifeblood update introduces a brand new boss, dramatic upgrades to an existing boss, and the ability to use map markers on the game's sprawling in-game map.

Rare to abandon Sea of Thieves 'death cost' following complaints
https://www.pcgamer.com/rare-to-abandon-sea-of-thieves-death-cost-following-complaints/
Shortly after the release of Sea of Thieves last week, Rare announced that it planned to introduce a new penalty upon death. Basically, every (in-game) death would be met with what came to be known as "the death cost": a fine of (in-game) gold. Presumably, this was designed to incentivize a fairly important part of the game: staying alive.

Sea of Thieves devs working to improve access issues, player rewards and achievement delays
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-devs-working-to-improve-access-issues-player-rewards-and-achievement-delays/
Sea of Thieves has had a busy week. Launched last Tuesday, a surge of players forced Rare to temporarily suspend new faces from joining the pirate sim's servers. A controversial death tax was tabled and subsequently scrapped, and player rewards—a service that grants players gold and reputation when cashing in rewards—haven't surfaced for some players.

PUBG celebrates its first birthday with complimentary weapon skin
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-celebrates-its-first-birthday-with-complimentary-weapon-skin/
It's hard to believe PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is only a year old. After Chris exclusively revealed its official trailer in early March, the battle royale 'em up parachuted into Steam's Early Access initiative on the 23rd of the same month. And, well, you know the rest.

The makers of Never Alone are working on a new sandbox game about making games
https://www.pcgamer.com/never-alone-creators-unveil-their-new-project-the-endless-mission/
Never Alone publisher E-Line Media announced today that it has a new project in the works called The Endless Mission, a narrative-focused "sandbox-style creation game" that sounds like it will be quite a departure from its predecessor. Players will embark on a journey through a world where they'll "craft games and experiences of their own in the Unity engine—all while challenging forces larger than themselves."

'I think it’s in everyone’s interest to support interoperability (cross-play)', says Epic's Tim Sweeney
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-think-its-in-everyones-interest-to-support-interoperability-cross-play-says-epics-tim-sweeney/
"I think it’s in everyone’s interest to support interoperability," Sweeney tells Glixel. "Whatever the history, it’s really in gamers’ interest to play with all of their friends. Gamers who play with their friends spend more and are more engaged."