Timmy opened up a Pandoras box that's gonna have industry wide complications

Crazy how presumptuous Apple is being about other companies' finances. Is this shit really gonna fly in court?

I guess Apple tested the water with Valve and when the judge granted Apple their request all be it with a small amount of games, Apple was probably like "Well shit, that actually worked. Lets drag more companies in"

The Tuesday news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has two new sales and a new release:

• A SUPERHOT Sale brings up to 60% discounts for two days: https://www.gog.com/promo/superhot_sale
• 8 classic games launch on the store thanks to Ziggurat (learn more here), and they're all on sale with a 33% discount during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210302_retro_classix
• And the game Foregone launches with a 20% discount until the 8th of March: https://www.gog.com/game/foregone

Steam has two new deals, and the weeklong deals.

• The new daily deal is Littlewood, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/894940/Littlewood/
• SUPERHOT VR is 40% off during the next 50 hours: https://store.steampowered.com/app/617830/SUPERHOT_VR/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • Mad Father gets a 20% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/483980/Mad_Father/
  • Witch Hunt is 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/661790/Witch_Hunt/
  • Air Missions: HIND is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/423490/Air_Missions_HIND/
  • Despotism 3k features a 60% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/699920/Despotism_3k/
  • And the last one is Left Alone, with an 80% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/417750/Left_Alone/

The Humble Store has a new Mega Multiplayer Sale, with up to 85% discounts during the next 6 days. The keys are mostly for Steam, Epic Store and UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/mega-multiplayer-sale/

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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GAMING NEWS

The next Need for Speed game has been delayed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-next-need-for-speed-game-has-been-delayed/
In February 2020, EA announced that Criterion Games will be working on the next Need for Speed game. However, it appears that the publisher has decided to delay this game so that Criterion can assist DICE with the development of the next Battlefield game.

Frogwares accuses NACON of pirating The Sinking City, NACON accuses Frogwares of not respecting its contract
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/frogwares-accuses-nacon-of-pirating-the-sinking-city-nacon-accuses-frogwares-of-not-respecting-its-contract/
Frogwares has published yesterday a lengthy post in which it accuses NACON, its former publisher, of cracking and pirating The Sinking City. On the other hand, NACON accuses Frogwares of not respecting their contract.

Aliens: Fireteam is a new co-op third-person survival shooter, releases in Summer 2021
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/aliens-fireteam-is-a-new-co-op-third-person-survival-shooter/
Aliens: Fireteam is cooperative third-person survival shooter from developer Cold Iron. The studio was founded in 2015 by industry veterans. Their goal is to create games they want to play. There are more than forty developers working on the Aliens: Fireteam.

Obscura promises to be a photo mode lover's paradise
https://www.pcgamer.com/obscura-promises-to-be-a-photo-mode-lovers-paradise/
I do love a good photo mode. But over the last year, I've started to increasingly appreciate games that put the camera in your character's hands, rather than offer a free-flying omnipotent lens from which to snap the world. That's why I've fallen in love with Obscura, a work-in-progress photography sandbox that looks like a virtual camera-lover's dream come true.

Destiny 2 players are glitching into raids with double the amount of players
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-players-are-glitching-into-raids-with-double-the-amount-of-players/
It's turning into quite the day for hilarious Destiny 2 matchmaking exploits. Hot on the heels of the Trials fixing emblem fiasco comes word of a somewhat more wholesome glitch. This one enables players to queue into certain PvE activities, including raids, with double the amount of players normally possible. In the case of raids, that means 12 guardians clapping alien cheeks simultaneously. As you can imagine, it makes encounters both much easier and hilariously chaotic.

Layoffs hit former Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 developer Hardsuit Labs
https://www.pcgamer.com/layoffs-hit-former-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-developer-hardsuit-labs/
Multiple employees at Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 developer Hardsuit Labs have reported being laid off in the week following the studio's removal from the troubled project.

EVE Online will let you 'borrow' skills to try new ships soon
https://www.pcgamer.com/eve-online-will-let-you-borrow-skills-to-try-new-ships-soon/
In EVE Online, it's not just enough to accrue the millions of ISK required to fly a battleship. You also have to train up the skills required to fly one, an act that can take months of actual time. But soon, CCP will let you take EVE's spiciest ships for a test drive, letting you borrow the required skills with new "Expert System" consumables.

Hogwarts Legacy developers fought to include a 'trans-inclusive' character creator
https://www.pcgamer.com/hogwarts-legacy-developers-fought-to-include-a-trans-inclusive-character-creator/
Harry Potter RPG Hogwarts Legacy will reportedly feature "trans-inclusive" character creation options, in spite of series creator J.K. Rowling's outspoken transphobia.
That news comes courtesy of a report by Bloomberg, which was told by anonymous sources that the game currently gives players the option to create their teen spellcasters with entirely independent body, voice type, and binary gender (witch or wizard) options that determines your dorm.

Intel confirms 11th Gen Core “Rocket Lake-S” is set to launch on March 30

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-confirms-11th-gen-core-rocket-lake-s-is-set-to-launch-on-march-30

Intel ends Performance Tuning Protection Program

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-discontinues-its-performance-tuning-protection-plan

You won't be able to purchase overclocking protection warranty for extra $20-$30 but it's not like Intel had a way to telling anyway.

It looks like any improvement in performance from the new Intel chips will come from the new architecture, not frequency. Let's hope the results pay off.

Meanwhile, we're getting first leaks of Zen 4 in form of Genoa, so next gen's Epyc chips:

• The amount of CPU chiplets will increase from 8 to 12 while still holden 8 cores, so 96 cores in total.
• Top Model will see it's TDP rise from 280W to 320W, and can be configured up to even 400W, thus nullifying Intel's Power advantage when they glue 2 Xeons together.
• A crazy 12 channels of up to DDR5-5200 RAM.
• 128 PCI-E 5.0 lanes; 160 lanes in 2P systems.
• The socket is absolutely gynormous, with 6096 pins. That's 50% more than on the current platform, which only comes with 4094 pins!
• New instructions include AVX-512 and BFloat-16, which are very much used in Machine Learning and AI. This could be extremely damaging to Intel if they loose their advantage there.

So yeah, looks already like Zen 4 will be a beast.

The Wednesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has three new sales and a new release:

• The Midweek Sale comes with up to 90% discounts until Saturday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210303_midweek_sale
• Publisher Plug in Digital has put its games up to 90% off until the 10th: https://www.gog.com/partner/plug_in_digital
• Publisher Frozenbyte has also put its games on sale, up to 75% off during the next 12 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/frozenbyte_sale
• The game Crypto: Against All Odds launches with a 20% discount until March 10: https://www.gog.com/game/crypto_against_all_odds

Steam has a new daily deal and 4 new Midweek Madness deals:

• The new daily deal is Evil Bank Manager, 51% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/896160/Evil_Bank_Manager/
• The first Midweek Madness deals is Project Wingman, 20% off until Friday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/895870/Project_Wingman/
• Europa Universalis IV is 75% off until the 5th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/236850/Europa_Universalis_IV/
• Publisher THQ Nordic has put its racing games on sale, between 10 and 83% off until Friday 5: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/THQNordicRacingMadness
• And the last one is Darkest Dungeon, 80% off until the 9th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/262060/Darkest_Dungeon/

At the Humble Store, publisher TinyBuild has its games up to 75% off during the next 5 days. The keys are mostly for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tinybuild-publisher-sale/

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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GAMING NEWS

Nioh 2 Patch 1.27 released, adds keyboard and mouse input icons
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nioh-2-patch-1-27-released-adds-keyboard-and-mouse-input-icons/
Team Ninja has released patch 1.27 for Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition that finally adds keyboard and mouse input icons to the game. PC gamers can enable this via “System” ? “Keyboard & Mouse Settings” ? “Control Icons”.

Resident Evil Village will feature plenty of horror content
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resident-evil-village-will-feature-plenty-of-horror-content/
According to the director of Resident Evil Village, players should expect to find a huge surprise on Ethan’s path. The only way to learn about it is to play the game, since Capcom is being very secretive on the subject. “The biggest surprise you could possibly imagine awaits Ethan Winters in this story. What that is, you’ll have to see for yourself! ”

Here are the first 22 minutes of gameplay from It Takes Two
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-the-first-22-minutes-of-gameplay-from-it-take-two/
It Takes Two is the upcoming action-adventure by Hazelight Studios. The game does not feature a single-player option, and it can only be played in either online or local split screen co-op.

Ronin: Samurai Redemption is a new story-driven action/combat adventure game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ronin-samurai-redemption-is-a-new-story-driven-action-combat-adventure-game/
CreativeForge Games has announced a new story-driven action/combat adventure game, Ronin: Samurai Redemption. Ronin: Samurai Redemption will be coming soon on PC, and below you can find its reveal gameplay trailer.

Part two of the news:

Build rodent racetracks and bet on the outcome in Hamster All-Stars
https://www.pcgamer.com/build-rodent-racetracks-and-bet-on-the-outcome-in-hamster-all-stars/
Lately, a bunch of my friends have been getting into Shenmue duck racing. There's a channel on Twitch running bets on duck races 24/7, with the chat placing wagers on which beautifully bow-tied bird will cross the finish line first. It's incredible stuff. For a similar experience, Hamster All-Stars may miss the thrill of screaming "c'mon blue!" at a duck, but more than makes up for it with its delightful rodent obstacle courses.

The Sims 4 has a new, smaller pack type for some reason
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sims-4-has-a-new-smaller-pack-type-for-some-reason/
The Sims 4 is already home to three different pack types: Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs. Now a fourth pack type is on the way, called Kits.
Kits are a bit like a Stuff Pack sliced in half—they're small collections of Create-A-Sim, Build/Buy, or story-based objects centered around a particular theme. Maxis is releasing three Kits to start off: Throwback Fit, Country Kitchen, and Bust the Dust.

Epic Games buys Fall Guys studio Mediatonic
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-games-buys-fall-guys-studio-mediatonic/
Epic Games has announced that it has acquired the Tonic Games Group, the parent company of Fall Guys developer Mediatonic.
"It’s no secret that Epic is invested in building the metaverse and Tonic Games shares this goal," Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. "As Epic works to build this virtual future, we need great creative talent who know how to build powerful games, content and experiences."

Valheim patch improves dedicated server latency, makes wolves less horny
https://www.pcgamer.com/valheim-patch-improves-dedicated-server-latency-makes-wolves-less-horny/
Co-op Viking survival game Valheim continues to get frequent updates in Early Access. The latest patch (0.147.3) is mostly aimed at improving dedicated servers and, perhaps just as importantly, making wolves a bit less horny.

Outriders developers explain why a tiny cutscene plays every time you open a door
https://www.pcgamer.com/outriders-developers-explain-why-a-tiny-cutscene-plays-every-time-you-open-a-door/
If you've been playing the Outriders demo, you've likely noticed that there are a lot of little cutscenes that play whenever you transition from one area to another. (...) Clips like this are often used to camouflage level loading (never forget that Mass Effect elevator), and to an extent that's the case here as well. But creative director Bartek Kmita explained to Eurogamer that the system is also used to bring co-op players together when they're moving from one area to another.

Fortnite is finally getting a female Midas skin, named Marigold
https://www.pcgamer.com/female-midas-skin/
One of Fortnite's most popular skins is getting a gold-plated sibling. All the way back in Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2, Agency leader Midas transfixed players with his cool look, his ability to turn basically anything into gold, and his mysterious connection to other characters. Well, like an '80s sitcom on its way out, Fortnite has introduced a new family member for Midas.

Devil Daggers update adds a new dagger that almost nobody will ever get
https://www.pcgamer.com/devil-daggers-update-adds-a-new-dagger-that-almost-nobody-will-ever-get/
(...)
The patch is mostly focused on quality of life features, including the addition of replay scrubbing which will enable you to jump to any part of a replay, new stats and graphs in replays, and some significant performance increases—"up to 5x or more in some cases," developer Sorath said.
The real hook, though, is the addition of a brand new, unique dagger.

Dead By Daylight's next killer is a bloodthirsty BTS-inspired pop star
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-by-daylights-next-killer-is-a-bloodthirsty-bts-inspired-pop-star/
The music biz is a cutthroat industry—but in the real world, that rarely extends to the actual act of slitting throats. Not so for Dead By Daylight's next killer, a jealous K-Pop star who's more than happy to let his fellow bandmates literally die in a fire.

Queer space opera A Long Journey To An Uncertain End has been successfully crowdfunded
https://www.pcgamer.com/queer-space-opera-a-long-journey-to-an-uncertain-end-has-been-successfully-crowdfunded/
Games about a spaceship full of rag-tag scoundrels on the run from the space cops are nothing new. But it's rare that one pits you as the ship itself—and the passengers you're carrying aren't the only ones with a messy past. So goes A Long Journey To An Uncertain End, a strategy management space opera about avoiding a 50-ton starship's relationship issues.

Zynga snaps up Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games
https://www.pcgamer.com/zynga-snaps-up-torchlight-3-developer-echtra-games/
Prolific mobile games publisher Zynga has acquired Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games for an undisclosed sum, GamesIndustry.Biz reports.
Following the acquisition, Echtra will be collaborating with fellow Zynga studio NaturalMotion on an unannounced, cross-platform RPG. But according to Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau, it also sounds like the studio will help give the mobile- and social-heavy publisher find a foothold on PC gaming.