Before Starfield, there was No Man's Sky. And what a journey it's been. It may have started out badly when it launched in 2016, but it's enjoyed one of the biggest redemptive arcs in gaming. We've had tons of free updates and plenty of extra content, and now the next big patch is already here.

Say hello to ECHOES. This is the newest update for No Man's Sky, which adds even more to the already massive space exploration title. Hello Games says it's the largest update of the year, celebrating seven years since the game's massive relaunch.

https://youtu.be/8g2YqU-_GtA

And once again, we're treated to a bevy of new content No Man's Sky players won't have to pay for as extra DLC. Included in Update 4.4 is the introduction of mechanical lifeforms, bringing their own unique rituals and language. The No Man's Sky patch notes describe them as "a long-hidden civilisation of robotic beings."

But wait! There's more!

ECHOES also features outlaw capital ships, which are "fearsome Pirate Dreadnoughts" that "cruise between the stars and terrorise merchant fleets," if you're into that sort of thing.

Then there's a new Multi-Tool Decommissioning Terminal on the Space Anomaly that allows you to "become a Multi-Tool salvage hunter" and discover a host of other goods.

On top of that, developer Hello Games has also tweaked the PSVR2 version of No Man's Sky. Specifically, this latest patch boosts the game's resolution, leading to a sharper image. It's one of several major platform updates this year, as the spacefaring adventure also just revealed its Mac version.

The full patch notes detail a long, long list of quality-of-life updates, Twitch drops, and even elements for some customization. Suffice it to say, ECHOES is once again another triumph for NMS. It's been said countless times already, but it's hard to imagine that this once hyped sci-fi game that became the center of much controversy and lawsuits then went on to ultimately redeem itself with free DLC and a dedicated community of players.

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Where would we be without Steam? It's easily the most popular way to download and play PC games in the current climate. The developer Valve also treats us to numerous events and sales throughout the year, and the next one is just around the corner.

If you like strategy games, then get ready for Steam Strategy Fest. As the name implies, this will be a celebration of all things tactical. A recent promo video gives a brief hint at what's to come.

https://youtu.be/xYp3ugqPxiA

The event will kick off Monday, August 28 at 10AM Pacific and will go on until September 4, so that's a week in which to get your strategy on (that's a saying, right?)

What's to be expected?

As always, Steam isn't saying absolutely everything about Strategy Fest. Suffice it to say, you can find demos and discounted games on sale throughout the week. As for what's going to be on offer, it's hard to say, but the short video above outlines a few titles that are likely to be included, such as Dune: Spice Wars and The Riftbreaker. Essentially, if this is a genre you're into, you're bound to find something you like.

Considering that we recently had the Visual Novel Fest, and before that the Stealth Fest, Valve does a good job of making sure we all stay tuned into its gaming platform. We can't help ourselves. There's usually something for everyone at these sales events. They make our Steam libraries look nice and bulky, even if they have the opposite effect on our collective wallets and digital bank accounts.

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Among all this Starfield talk, it's easy to forget that The Elder Scrolls 6 is even a thing (maybe). It's been five years since we were treated to a brief tease of the next installment in Bethesda's flagship series, and the face of the studio seems to regret being too hasty with things.

In a recent interview with GQ, Mr. Skyrim himself, Todd Howard, says he me have been a bit too quick to announce TES6, adding, "I probably would've announced it more casually."

https://youtu.be/OkFdqqyI8y4

Of course, the interviewer asks whether Howard can divulge any further details about The Elder Scrolls 6. Naturally, the director isn't saying anything, though he does say that the upcoming RPG does have a codename. He also says that he and the team want the next TES game to "fill that role of the ultimate fantasy-world simulator."

So when is it co-

When's it coming out, I hear you ask? Again, nobody can really say. As a sidenote, Howard does make a comment about how he wants to keep making games, with no plans to retire any time soon. He even likens his career path to Nintendo's own Shigeru Miyamoto, who's now in his early 70s.

It's at this point that the GQ interviewer offers their own speculation, saying that The Elder Scrolls 6 may not be out until Todd Howard reaches 60. Given that his Wikipedia page has him down as being either 52 or 53, this means TES6 might still be a good seven or eight years off.

Obviously, that's just speculation. Although recent rumors suggest the long-awaited follow-up to Skyrim might be at least five years away. In any case, Bethesda definitely seemed to have done itself a disservice by announcing it so soon.

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Forget Starfield. Let's play something more old school instead. How about The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind? That's a classic Bethesda title, and it's still having mods made for it. But if you want a mix of the two, then we've got you covered on that front.

Before you take to the skies in Starfield, feel free to check out AnyOldName3's contribution to the current trend. Over on Nexus Mods, you'll find a small download for Morrowind that implements the contentious Starfield main menu screen.

[caption id="attachment_398649" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via AnyOldName3/Nexus Mods.[/caption]

That's right, the Starfield menu that has caused an uproar can be a part of one of the best role-playing games of a bygone era. And all before Bethesda's new sci-fi game even hits the shelves.

Shitpost modding is still modding

AnyOldName3's mod is a simple affair, replacing Morrowind's menu screen with Starfield's. If you do want to download it (just for shits and giggles, I guess), you will need OpenMW, as it only works though that.

That's basically all this mod does. As far as we can tell, it's still the same old Elder Scrolls 3. If you want to fundamentally improve or alter Morrowind in any way that's gameplay worthy, there are mods galore for that sort of thing.

As for Starfield, we are inching ever closer to its release date. By now, you've probably heard just about everything there is to know about Bethesda's brand-new IP. But in case you've forgotten, the game will be releasing on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S.

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We'll probably never see a third installment in Valve's legendary Left 4 Dead series, but that's okay. L4D2 is still getting a lot of love and, in fact, it recently received a small update that comes packed with tweaks, as well as one sought-after change.

As spotted by PC Gamer, the patch notes for the latest update to Left 4 Dead 2 notes that, among other things, Valve has finally decided to name the Swamp Fever gator, something that's apparently been requested by the community. From this day forth, the "swamp gator" shall canonically be known as...Fred. Do with this info as you must.

[caption id="attachment_398633" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Valve/Steam.[/caption]

According to my own Steam account, this patch is only a 2MB download, but as you can see from the notes, there's a laundry list of tinkering that's gone on.

Still rockin' the Steam charts

And why shouldn't the developer keep its 14-year-old zombie co-op game alive and well? It's an absolute classic in the genre, giving more of what people loved in the original release. It's still going pretty strong overall. At the time of writing, SteamDB registers almost 27,000 players fightin' hordes in Left 4 Dead 2 right now. Also, the game is currently at the number 44 spot on the Steam charts.

That might not sound impressive, but considering Elden Ring is just ahead at 40 and Cyberpunk 2077 is trailing behind at position 48, Valve's classic FPS is still managing to pull in enough players. Although we were supposed to be seeing a return to the L4D format with Turtle Rock Studios' Back 4 Blood, it didn't quite hit the mark. For many, it was a decent zombie shooter, but it just couldn't reach the heights of Valve's long-dormant series.

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Video game and general graphical technology is advancing so fast, that it's tough to keep up with it. Now, Nvidia has announced that the latest version of its Deep Learning Super Sampling (or DLSS) is on the way, and it's already going to support some modern titles.

Details can be found on Nvidia's website. The long and the short of it is: DLSS 3.5 is due to release sometime this fall. It represents the next stage in Team Green's upscaling AI tech, with a recent video from the company explaining just how it's better than previous iterations.

https://youtu.be/sGKCrcNsVzo

On top of that, games like Alan Wake 2 and Portal RTX will support version 3.5, as will the upcoming Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk 2077.

One for you graphical purists

The recent video announcing DLSS 3.5 gives an overview of how the people at Nvidia have improved the image upscaling algorithm. Bryan Catanzaro, Vice President of Applied Deep Learning Research, says this latest version will feature Ray Reconstruction.

How does it work? Catanzaro gives some insight into how it differs from the ray tracing technology many of us have come to be familiar with. Suffice it to say, most casual gamers probably won't be too concerned with the details. However, side-by-side comparisons showing Cyberpunk with all the iterations of DLSS (including 3.5) do show a difference in quality, especially when it comes to bolder colors in light reflections.

As always, the upcoming Nvidia AI will only be compatible with RTX-enabled graphics cards. Bit of a shame that it's not more open source, but no doubt AMD (and possibly Intel) will follow closely with newer and more powerful versions of their own upscaling alternatives.

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It's so easy to modify Half-Life 2 that it's no wonder Valve's 2004 magnum opus is still part of the gaming scene. However, if you just want the game to look prettier, you can soon run it through Nvidia's RTX Remix tech.

Over on the Nvidia GeForce YouTube channel, you can see a teaser for a revamped version of the iconic Half-Life 2. Side-by-side comparisons show what the OG release looks like when compared to the upcoming remastered version.

https://youtu.be/aM_gzfAMdNs

The Half-Life 2 RTX Remix project actually comes to us via the modding community itself. The description under the trailer says it's being helmed by "four of Half-Life 2’s top mod teams, now known as Orbifold Studios." Currently, there doesn't appear to be a release date for it.

Ooh, it's so shiny!

The original Half-Life 2 (now fast approaching its 19th birthday) still holds up today. However, a "remixed" version of the classic FPS could bring a visual boost that could breathe new life into it.

The fan-made project will boast full ray tracing for that added dose of lighting goodness, DLSS 3 for graphical upscaling, and a bunch of other tech things that sound fancy.

Nvidia released its RTX Remix as a way for modders to give that certain je ne sais quoi to games that support such modern visual technologies. However, we've also seen it been used to pretty up even older games, like the original Tomb Raider.

You can check out more details on the upcoming Half-Life 2 RTX Remix project by going to Nvidia's website.

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As of writing, Starfield is just two weeks away from release. Will the long wait finally pay off? We don't know, but until we get our collective hands on it, you can scope out this new live action trailer for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG.

Accompanied by a more "floaty" and orchestral version of Elton John's "Rocket Man" (because of course), the footage shows a heroic-looking astronaut who gifts a young girl a badge bearing the Starfield logo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek3I6_9c58E

He then jettisons off into space, flying among the cosmos, hope and awe in his eyes. Then some brief pew-pew-pew-ing before he finds himself touching grass (or...dust, in this case) on a new planet.

I would have chosen Babylon Zoo's "Spaceman," personally

As if Starfield needed any more hype. This is Bethesda's newest IP in 25 years, and it's easily one of the most anticipated video games of this generation. While there's already been some criticism towards the game's main menu, many are excited about Starfield.

Still, this live action trailer does have a certain "epic" quality about it, if you'll pardon the cliché. If nothing else, it gives Microsoft a chance to flex its Big Budget muscles.

If, for some reason, you haven't committed the date to memory, Starfield will be launching on September 6 for Xbox Series X|S exclusive and PC.

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Nightdive Studios has been hard at work bringing us remasters and remakes of classic FPS games from a bygone era. We've already had revamped versions of the first two Quake games, and now the developer is bringing back Star Wars: Dark Forces.

In a recent trailer on the studio's YouTube channel, Nightdive will be collaborating with Lucasfilm Games (formerly LucasArts) to create a remaster of the mid-90's Star Wars title.

https://youtu.be/4b9TTurkH4c

The trailer (which demonstrates alpha footage) shows off some of the work so far. You'll definitely want to check out the renewed cut scenes. Much like previous projects done by Nightdive, it'll still look and feel like Dark Forces, but will be given a modern lift with 4K visuals, plus "advanced 3D rendering, modern gamepad support, trophies and achievements, and more."

The (dark) force is strong in this one

The original game was released all the way back in 1995, and was the first in the Jedi Knight series. It was developed on the aptly named Jedi engine, which is a toolkit that shares similarities with Build, the engine that powered the likes of Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior. Nightdive's remaster of the ancient Star Wars game will utilize the KEX engine instead, which the studio has used in a number of projects, including for the Quake remaster.

We recently got treated to a modern version of Quake 2, which improved the graphics (particularly in the lighting department) while also adding quality-of-life changes and the DLC.

At the moment, we don't know when Star Wars: Dark Forces will be coming out, but it's set to release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

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The recent Quake 2 remaster by Nightdive Studios is arguably the best way to experience the classic 1997 shooter. But could it be better? That's what one modder thinks, who's currently working on a path tracing mod.

Reddit user mStewart207 (as spotted by DSO Gaming) recently uploaded some images from their upcoming "RTX Renderer" project, which will aim to implement even greater lighting algorithms to the revamped version of Quake 2.

[caption id="attachment_397928" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via mStewart207/Reddit.[/caption]

Judging by the screenshots so far, it looks pretty great. The modder is aiming to publish it to GitHub "as soon as it's more or less playable." We don't know when that will be, though.

What is path tracing?

There are a lot of technical terms that get thrown around in this modern gaming era. From image upscaling to things like RTX and rasterization, it can be difficult to know what's going on when it comes to visual acuity.

Many of you may already be aware of ray tracing, which is – in a nutshell – a piece of AI that uses the position of the player to make light and shadows look more realistic. But is this any different to path tracing? According to TechSpot, "Path tracing differs from ray tracing in that instead of following lots of rays, throughout an entire scene, the algorithm only traces the most likely path for the light."

It's up to you to decide whether you understand that definition or not.

At the very least, it sounds like the remaster of Quake 2 could potentially look even better once this mod comes out. Who knew id Software's brown-and-gray FPS would get a second chance in the limelight?

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Despite numerous controversies over the years, Twitch remains the biggest platform for streaming and broadcasting video game content. However, the Amazon-owned site has recently tried to implement better features to help users moderate their channels, and it looks a new tool is on the way.

According to a screenshot uploaded by streamer and partner Lowco (thanks, Eurogamer), Twitch plans on adding a way for content creators to block banned viewers from watching their streams. The image depicts a new setting that "when enabled, banned users will not be able to watch your live broadcasts."

https://twitter.com/LowcoTV/status/1691893134609813526

Currently, a Twitch ban only stops users from chatting, but they can still watch. Note that this new feature is not considered an IP ban, but Twitch's senior product manager Trevor Fisher says the company will look into feedback from streamers with the hope of making moderation tools more powerful.

When are Twitch ban changes coming?

Updates to Twitch bans should roll out in September, available to all users interested in the new feature. We don't know what date exactly, but details should trickle in as Twitch implements changes from its Patch Note streams.

Blocking users from watching streams (and chatting) won't stop them from being able to watch VODs or clips, though. Just as Fisher noted, maybe that's something the platform could implement in the future with enough feedback.

With viewership up, amassing around 1.8 billion watched hours for July 2023, Twitch retains its position as the number one place for streaming content. Alternatives like YouTube Gaming are trying to compete, but the purple site in its current iteration still rules the market. For now.

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Sometimes it's hard to imagine that No Man's Sky came out seven years ago! What was once the most controversial game in recent history (with accusations of false advertising thrown about) is easily now one of the best sci-fi games of the previous (or even current) generation. And now even more content is on the way.

A recent video from the guys at Hello Games acknowledges the time that has passed with a special anniversary video. It showcases all the major changes and free DLC that have been implemented over the past seven years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj_TLfNmSQY

Then, right at the end, a brief announcement that "ECHOES" is on the way. We don't know what this is, other than it being some new No Man's Sky content.

Sean Murray teases Twitter once more

Typically, when it comes to updates for the procedurally generated universe simulator, the studio's own Sean Murray will tease what's coming next.

This one is no different, but a tweet from the man himself doesn't really clue us in. With previous updates, Murray will often upload a single emoji to his Twitter account, often alluding to what fans can expect next.

However, with "ECHOES," all we get is some question marks, which really only adds to the mystery. Suffice it to say, fans will be excited to see what No Man's Sky has in store.

https://twitter.com/NoMansSky/status/1692521575730274375

According to the game's Wiki page, there have been 24 updates since it launched in 2016. All of which have been free. The studio may have started out on the wrong foot but NMS now has a strong following. We don't yet know when the next major patch is coming out, but it shows just how committed the team has been in making sure this mind-bogglingly large game just gets bigger and bigger.

The post No Man’s Sky Turns 7, ECHOES content teased appeared first on Destructoid.

Gamescom 2023 will be kicking off next week, featuring some of the biggest names in the industry. One such name is AMD, and the PC hardware giant could announce some new lines in its RDNA 3 range.

That's if a recent tweet from AMD's own Scott Herkelman is anything to go by. Herkelman says that Team Red will be in attendance at this year's Gamescom, bringing with it the company's "next major product announcements."

https://twitter.com/sherkelman/status/1691864001129443634

What this will be exactly we can't say. However, judging from the "s" in "announcements," it sounds like it's going to be more than one thing.

New graphics cards, surely?

Suffice it to say, we would assume that AMD will announce its next line of graphics cards in its latest 7000 series. A report from PC Gamer speculates that it could well be the leaked RX 7800 XT.

That may not be all. Some people commenting under Herkelman's tweet are holding out that AMD will announce FSR 3. For those who don't know, FSR (or FidelityFX Super Resolution) is the tech giant's own take on algorithmic graphical upscaling, similar to Nvidia's DLSS and Intel's Xe Super Sampling.

AMD seems to be trailing behind Nvidia at the moment. Its biggest rival has already released a number of products in its Ada Lovelace range. We've already seen the likes of the RTX 4090 right through to a 4060 from Team Green.

Conversely, there have pretty much only been two launches in AMD's RDNA 3 range: the RX 7900 (XT, XTX, and GRE variants) and the RX 7600. Now would the time for Team Red to start unveiling some more in order to keep up with Nvidia.

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Are we sick of hearing about Starfield yet? Unlikely, seeing as it's one of the most anticipated games of this year. And the community is already gearing up to unleash some of its own custom mods for the upcoming Bethesda title.

If you head over to Nexus Mods, you'll see that the site has now opened up its modding section for the game. Obviously, there's nothing there yet (save for some artwork), but it's pretty obvious, given the amount of Elder Scrolls and Fallout mods that are forever coming out, that a lot of people are going to be tweaking Starfield the picosecond it comes out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMOPoAq5vIA&t=658s&pp=ygUQc3RhcmZpZWxkIGRpcmVjdA%3D%3D

Just imagine the possibilities. There's no end to the potential when it comes to modifying AAA games, and Nexus is one of the most popular places to showcase such projects.

And the winner is...

On top of that, the modding website is also hosting a competition, with a chance to win a copy of Starfield and some other goodies. For example, they're giving away a TUF Radeon RX 7900 XT graphics card, a B650-Plus motherboard, some peripherals, and some merchandise.

If you want in on this, you just have to head to the competition page and follow the instructions. The event goes on until August 29, and winners will be selected at random and contacted by Nexus Mods.

It's difficult to unbridled the sheer hype for Starfield. Given that it's Bethesda's first new IP in 25 years, a lot of people are going to be curious about what Todd Howard and his team have been working on. Will it pay off? Only time will tell.

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Unsurprisingly, the remake of Resident Evil 4 has been doing pretty well for itself since it released in March. Given the months that have elapsed since then, fans have been finding new ways to entertain themselves in what many consider one of Capcom's best games.

One such example comes from YouTube user Xenoxygene (as spotted by PCGamesN), in which they challenge themselves to complete the game without firing a single bullet at an enemy.

https://twitter.com/Xenoxygene/status/1690837674901274624

The idea being to make it all the way to the end with a perfectly abysmal accuracy rating of 0%. However, as you can imagine, there were many tribulations to attempting such a thing in a game known for a lot of gunfire.

How did it go?

The first thing Xenoxygene has to establish is what constitutes accuracy in the Resident Evil 4 remake. For starters, killing an enemy with the knife or explosives doesn't count. Neither does the rocket launcher, it seems.

In order to ensure that 0% accuracy was met for each level, they made sure to fire at least one bullet into a wall or ceiling so the game would register the gun had been fired, but it hadn't hit an enemy.

Obviously, this wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy, and the player does come across several obstacles. One such example being the infamous water room, in which Leon has to protect Ashley while she activates cranks.

https://youtu.be/MBWi0Obny58

This led Xenoxygene to placing mines on the stairs the Zealots would walk by, which would take them out without a bullet being needed.

Sadly, the challenge proved a little too much in Chapter 11, when it became apparent that it wasn't possible to get through the mine cart section without having to use a gun to take out enemies.

Even a script that was programmed to fire continuously into the ceiling in order to bring the accuracy right down couldn't get it below 0.1%.

As such, Xenoxygene was unable to get 0% accuracy across the board, but it's definitely a valiant effort, especially considering the tricks that had to be employed in areas where firing a bullet was a necessity. It begs the question of whether anyone can come along and actually finish the challenge.

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Are you ready for the big Phasmophobia update? If so, you'll be pleased to hear that it's going to start rolling out this Thursday, so prepare yourselves for a number of changes in the hit co-op ghost-hunting game.

After what felt like an eternity of Kinetic Games promising that a significant patch was coming, the team finally confirmed it on Discord recently. There's also been a public post on Twitter confirming that, yes, the "Ascension" update is inbound and will be going live on August 17 from 10AM UTC onwards.

https://twitter.com/KineticGame/status/1691407479119192065

If you want to get in those last few levels before Phasmophobia goes through these changes, now's the time.

Everything changes

Over a series of dev posts on Steam, we've learned that a lot of things are going to be different in Phasmo. For one, there's some new equipment, which is now going to be tiered. Everyone is also having their levels reset to 0, but it's been said that you will be given a badge that indicates where you were before the update. The patch was supposed to be rolling out a little earlier, but the people at Kinetic said they had to delay it a little bit.

Phasmophobia is also coming to consoles, with a projected release date of...well...sometime this month. Who knows, maybe we'll get the PS5 and Xbox Series versions on the same day as the big update.

In any case, there's a lot to look forward to. So horror fans, mark your calendars for tomorrow, the Progression 2.0 changes are coming!

The post Phasmophobia’s “biggest update” ever is coming this week appeared first on Destructoid.

We all remember the Adoring Fan from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. He was – let's not mince words here – a monstrously irritating NPC, and now someone taken that monstrosity and actualized it in physical form.

Over on Nexus Mods, user theocddragon simply asks "good heavens what have I done" with a modification for Oblivion that turns everyone's favorite Wood Elf to hate into an unholy sight. Seriously, it's like if the Adoring Fan was rejected from Tim Burton's Beetlejuice for being too odd.

[caption id="attachment_396762" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via theocddragon/Nexus Mods.[/caption]

Editing the character model, the modder has reconstructing the NPC's face using a dragging tool that has resulted in the severely morphed image of this once annoying–though wholly innocent–citizen of Cyrodiil.

Kill it with three fires

Describing it as an "eldritch abomination with one singular eye," theocddragon has unleashed a nightmare unto the Oblivion community and those who witness it. They even question why someone would be able to wield such power in editing software.

It kind of reminds me of the pre-menu screen in Super Mario 64, in which – perhaps in a bid to show the power of the N64 console – you could stretch and morph Mario's face. It, too, produced some horrifying images that are not of this world.

That aside, it does show just how beloved Oblivion in the community, even after 17 years. The Bethesda RPG has definitely aged as time has gone by, but that's where Skyblivion comes into the picture.

This is a fan-made project that will be a complete remake of TES4 done in Skyrim's engine. As such, we'll get a much prettier (though perhaps not visually up-to-date) version of Oblivion. Let's just hope the Adoring Fan will not be the facial atrocity he is in theocddrago's mod.

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Many of us horror fans are giddy about the fact that Silent Hill is making a comeback. However, the loss of P.T. (the SH project that was being developed by Hideo Kojima and Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro) will always be a sore point. Not just for fans, either, as even those involved still feel the pain.

Recently, people on Twitter have acknowledged the nine years that have elapsed since P.T. was released. Many have been reminiscing about what could have been before the game was canceled in 2015. One such person is del Toro himself, who reached out to Konami, seemingly in a bid to see if the studio is interested in reviving the dead project.

https://twitter.com/RealGDT/status/1690528967802167296

There's not much that's been said by the director other than asking Konami, "What sayeth thou?" This was followed by the phrase "Irrumabo Konamitus" which, when translated from Latin to English, says "I will visit Konami."

Don't let your P.T.s be dreams

It sounds like del Toro is very much interested in reviving P.T.

Given that Silent Hill is making a triumphant return, hopes will remain that Kojima's take on the series will one day count itself among the many other upcoming SH games. It's hard to say. Konami pretty much turned its back on the franchise (and on Hideo Kojima) several years ago. Whether the studio will ever return to this one particular project cannot be said.

It's also hard to imagine it's been nearly ten years since P.T. dropped on PS4 with nary a word. Its photorealistic visuals, Kojima-esque puzzles, and terrifying atmosphere made it stand out. The fact that it was eventually revealed to be a teaser for the now-defunct Silent Hills was even more thrilling.

Such a shame it never came to be. Perhaps del Toro's words will open up a new dialogue of possibilities. Ah, to dream.

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With just a few weeks left, everyone and their dog is talking about Starfield (if "woof" is canine-speak for "I'm really looking forward to Starfield"). Before then, we're still being drip-fed bite-sized bits of information, including the story prior to the game itself.

Over on the developer's website, you can scroll down to a timeline of the major political events that take place before we join things. It begins in the year 2050, when humans take their first steps on Mars.

Just 50 years later, we begin living in space. Then, after just a few more years, we reach Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth (about 4.3 light years away from us).

https://twitter.com/StarfieldGame/status/1691105607712202752

After that, the timeline gives a brief rundown of the main events that occur before Starfield kicks off. For example, there's a little bit of information about the United Colonies, the settling of some of the major cities, some wars. All that good stuff.

We've truly left Earth behind

The timeline ends when Starfield begins. At this point, we can't really say what will happen in the story. All we can safely say is that we'll likely be playing a big part in it. It's also quite optimistic of Bethesda to say that humanity will be able to step on our nearest planet in less than 30 years. I mean, it is possible, but who knows what the future of real-life space travel will be?

That's why we have science fiction. At least this way we can jump into the moon boots of those who will be exploring faraway galaxies while, back here on Earth, many of us are still wondering what the hell Threads even is.

Starfield launches on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. It'll also be available on Game Pass from day one.

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Katsuhiro Harada, the director of Tekken 8 and long-time veteran of the series, has responded to what he refers to as "silly threats." In a recent tweet, he hits back at online trolls with a pretty lengthy statement about what harassment leads to.

In a recent post on Twitter, Harada decided to give his take on the threats that have been coming his way online. One such example comes from a no-named user who says they will hit the director "with a Burning Hammer" (a move used by Tekken wrestler King) if Tekken 8 doesn't feature Eddy Gordo.

https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1689456340564111361

Harada makes it clear that, serious or not, such threats affect he and "everyone at FGC" (fighting game community). In a three-point post, he outlines what comments like these leads to. Number one being that security is bumped up, which "increases operating costs and increases the burden on the players" who attend.

Motivation also decreases

He goes on to say that "company founders, board members, and lawyers 'Don't like to be intimidated'," and that he does not "adopt the views of those who use 'We' when expressing their opinions," as though such people represent all fans.

The end result is that studios simply have no motivation to carry on making games when threats are being made. Tekken 8 is highly anticipated, and the last thing fans want or need is for the team to not want to keep working on it.

Yet still people persist. Immediately below Harada's tweet, one user says they will be spending their money elsewhere because companies like Bandai Namco easily forget the "narrow demographic who, mostly, go out of their way to afford" a "luxury product." Harada's response to this is a bit more... direct. So, as he's said before, don't ask him for shit.

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It's unfortunate that STALKER 2 never made its April 2022 release date. However, it appears as though the long-awaited FPS horror game from GSC could be launched at the start of December, even though there's been no official confirmation.

That's according to the game's listing on German retail website PLAION, as spotted by ex-VGC writer Andrew Marmo. As of this story going live, it looks as though STALKER 2 may be releasing on December 1. That goes for all platforms, it seems.

https://twitter.com/the_marmolade/status/1690092961772482560

Of course, the developer hasn't said anything about this, so it's hard to say whether this is accurate information or not. Amazon currently has the game's release date as December 31, which is likely just a placeholder.

This sounds a bit familiar

Maybe some of you are scratching your heads and thinking, "Wait. Didn't we already get a confirmed launch window?" Why, yes. Back in January 2022, GSC Game World did post on Twitter to say that STALKER 2 was coming December 8, 2022. Though that was last year, and as you can see, that didn't happen, either.

As such, it seems as though the release date is probably going to be December, but temper expectations until we get official word.

It's a shame the studio had to push back the upcoming sequel. Much of the delay came from the Russian invasion into Ukraine that begin at the start of 2022, which forced the developer to relocate to Prague.

As such, delaying the release of STALKER 2 was expected but understandable, and most fans are happy to wait a little longer. Hopefully, GSC will make an announcement soon around this possible December 1 release date.

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At this year's QuakeCon, AMD announced a special treat for Starfield fans. If you like PC hardware that's themed after Bethesda games, are you in for a treat. That's if you're lucky enough to be able to get any of it, of course.

A recent video on the AMD YouTbe channel introduces a limited edition graphics card and processor themed after the upcoming space-faring RPG. More specifically, it's the Radeon 7900 XTX GPU and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU that have been given the special Starfield makeover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1KjsqaWIU4

However, there are only 500 of these being made available. You can check out a few more details on AMD's website. To make things even trickier, it appears as though only those who were in attendance at QuakeCon 2023 will be in with a chance of getting hold of the hardware. It doesn't look like they'll be going on sale.

So what's the point?

This seems like one more way that AMD and Bethesda are cozying up together. A few weeks back, the tech giant announced that it would be giving away a free copy of Starfield with purchases of select graphics cards or CPUs.

The game is also being optimized for Team Red's products, due to a partnership between Bethesda and AMD. As such, some Nvidia or Intel users might be feeling a little bit left out.

With just a few weeks to go now until release day, Starfield retains its first-class seat on the Hype Train. There's a lot riding on this new IP from the Skyrim and Fallout studio. We can't say for certain how successful the game will be when it comes out. Ah, who are we kidding? It's going to be massive!

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Despite Twitch being embroiled in controversies (seemingly on a constant basis), it's still the number one choice when it comes to streaming or watching streamers. This is evidenced by the fact that viewership seems to be on the up and up, with millions still tuning in each month.

Cold hard data seems to back this up, as a report from Gamesindustry.biz states that Twitch has recorded 1.8 billion hours for July 2023. This represents a 5% increase over June, with daily viewership having gone up since March of this year. The figures come from StreamElements and Rainmaker.gg.

[caption id="attachment_396076" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Backstage.[/caption]

On top of that, GTA 5 is still the number one game to watch, with 139 million hours logged. Other top titles for the Amazon-owned platform include League of Legends, Minecraft, CS:GO, and Dota 2. Basically, a lot of PvP and/or otherwise multiplayer games.

Recent Twitch backlashes

However, it's not all peachy for Twitch. The site came under fire from streamers recently when its new Partner Plus program was announced. Many felt that qualifying for the better revenue split was unobtainable for a lot of people who rely on the service for income.

Maintaining a recurring subscription count of 350 for three months already sounds like a lofty ask. Add to that the fact that Amazon Prime subs and gifted subs don't count, and it's easy to see why a lot of streamers find this target difficult.

That said, from a viewer's perspective, things seem to be going pretty well. With close to two billion hours in total watched for July alone, gamers are evidently finding plenty to watch on Twitch. It's just a shame the company continues to disappoint many of its broadcasters.

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We all heard the news. Quake 2 has been officially remastered, and non-other than Nightdive Studios was responsible for its creation. While the contents of id Software's classic game are enough to keep us satiated (especially those of us who love the original 1997 release), there's something else to look forward to.

In a recent post on Twitter, Laced Records, a company that specializes in vinyl soundtracks for video games, is unleashing Quake 2's music. The tweet links to the website, which shows there are two versions, one of which will be a limited edition.

https://twitter.com/Laced_audio/status/1689683030313500672

While both of them will set you back $38 each, the limited edition press will feature "two solid red and orange A-side/B-side effect LPs," which looks pretty fancy judging by the images.

When can I get it?!

Hold your horses. This Quake 2 vinyl is not out just yet. The website says both versions will be released in January 2024, but you can pre-order yours now.

The soundtrack to the game is quite memorable, heading much more into rock/metal territory than the NIN ambient sounds of the first Quake game. Q2's music was conducted by Sonic Mayhem (who also did soundtracks to games like The Division and Deux Ex: Mankind Divided) and Jer Sypult. Horror director and musician Rob Zombie also contributed to the game's main theme.

It may be more than two and a half decades old, but Quake 2 is an important part of 90s gaming, especially in the FPS genre. Okay, it may not have had the same impact as the first Quake or the OG Doom entries, but it's still a classic, and now we have a remaster (and soon the vinyl) we can enjoy.

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Those into speedrunning will know Games Done Quick very well. Events like SGDQ 2023 help to raise staggering amounts for good causes, and now it's the turn of Flame Fatales, which is kicking off this weekend.

The all-woman speedrunning event runs from August 13 (that's this Sunday) right up until August 20. You can check the Games Done Quick website for more details about it. Flame Fatales will run in aid of Malala Fund, a charity co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai that fights for "every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education."

[caption id="attachment_396066" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Games Done Quick.[/caption]

You can also check out the schedule that's now live, showing who's playing what and when. Essentially, it's going to be a week that's jam-packed with some of the best women speedrunners around, helping to raise money for charity.

Millions raised

Over the years, the Games Done Quick brand has helped raise a ton of money that has gone to a number of worthy causes. Earlier this year, AGDQ raised $2.6 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. That's not chump change!

Flames Fatales is just one more opportunity for streamers and runners to come together to provide video game entertainment, while also doing good in the world. The act of speedrunning (where you aim to finish a game as quickly as possible in any non-cheat fashion) has become immensely popular. People dedicate hundreds (if not thousands) of hours to perfecting their techniques in order to shave off milliseconds.

It's something that just about anyone can get into, but it takes an enormous amount of effort and time to truly be counted among the best. Let's hope Games Done Quick's Flame Fatale event is just as successful as the others that have come before it.

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Let's face it: If it weren't for the modding community, games like Fallout 4 probably wouldn't still be a major part of the AAA gaming world. Despite the Bethesda RPG coming out in 2015, it's still getting plenty of love, as evidenced by this one modification that fixes load times.

Thanks to Nexus Mods user Antonix35, you can now enjoy speedier loading times with their Fallout 4 plugin. As well as making the game load faster in general, the mod also fixes "in-game vertical sync for high frame rate monitors," adds in the ability to "select loading screens," and more.

https://youtu.be/bfEcyRJ4Bo0

The modder says the whole thing works by "speeding up slow locations in game code that are slowing down other loading threads." Now, I don't know much about the inner workings of modding so that means nothing to me. However, some of you out there will have a better understanding of what Antonix35's Long Loading Times Fix does. I mean, it works!

The proof of the pudding is in the loading

Just to make sure that we get an idea of just how fast Fallout 4's load times are now, a video has been provided that shows the mod in action.

A timer in the corner displays how much quicker it is now to fast travel between locations and other loading zones. Some of the times are now just a couple of seconds. The quickest one seen in the clip is when the player enters an internal location at Diamon City, which clocks in at 0.64 seconds.

In fact, the longest time we get to see is when the game itself is loaded up at the start. It takes just over eight seconds to boot up the save file, which is still pretty impressive.

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There's a lot of contention at the moment regarding the re-release of Red Dead Redemption. Some fans are not pleased about Rockstar charging $50 for a PS4 port of a 13-year-old game, but Take-Two's CEO doesn't appear to agree with them.

Speaking to IGN, Strauss Zelnick has justified the need to charge almost full price for RDR1 on the previous-gen system. In a statement, he said it's "what we believe is the commercially accurate price for it."

https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/1688552977508806656

He was asked whether the inclusion of the Undead Nightmare DLC was the reason for the $50 price tag. Zelnick responded by saying it was a "great standalone game in its own right when it was originally released, so we feel like it's a great bundle for the first time, and certainly a great value for consumers." This may or may not answer IGN's question.

WWJMD (What would John Marston do)?

Rockstar announced the re-release of Red Dead Redemption on August 7. The game is scheduled to come out on PlayStation 4 and the Switch. For Nintendo users, this means they may finally play one of the most celebrated open-world titles of the last generation.

However, many fans feel that $50 is too high, especially as this isn't a remaster. Even more may still feel a bit disappointed that this wasn't the remaster/remake that had been rumored.

On top of that, PC gamers have once again been left behind, as Rockstar/Take-Two don't appear to have any plans to release RDR1 on the platform. There will undoubtedly be reasons for this. However, when Zenick was asked about a PC port, he didn't give a straight answer.

It depends on the vision that the creative teams have for a title, and in the absence of having a powerful vision, for something that we would do with a title, we might bring it in its original form, we've done that, and in certain instances we might remaster or remake, so it really depends on the title and how the label feels about it, the platform, and what we think the opportunity is for consumers.

Make of that what you will. Red Dead Redemption will launch on PS4 and Nintendo Switch on August 17.

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Xbox Game Pass is no doubt worth the monthly cost, especially since you can get a trial version of it for $1. However, said trial has now had its length slashed, and some may think it a strange coincidence this has happened just before Starfield gets released.

Turns out, instead of a cheap introductory offer that provides access to the Xbox gaming service for one month, you now only get half the time. First spotted by Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach over on Twitter, the Game Pass trial now only lasts two weeks.

https://twitter.com/ethangach/status/1688888019141500929

Indeed, if you head over to the Xbox Game Pass page, you can see that 14 days is all you'll get now for that first dollar. After that, you'll be paying the full rate.

Is Starfield the reason?

We can't say for certain why the trial period has been halved, but with Starfield just around the corner, this could be one of the reasons.

Seeing as Bethesda's much-anticipated sci-fi RPG will be on Game Pass from day one, it's possible Microsoft doesn't want people playing it for just $1. The game launches on September 6, so the new trial of the Xbox service would end long before it launches.

This is just speculation, of course, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't think Starfield had something to do with the reduced trial period. The fact that it's not been mentioned on the official Game Pass Twitter page makes it seem like this change was done on the quiet.

In any case, now you'll only get the first 14 days for the introductory $1 price tag. That includes the Ultimate and PC packages as well, according to the website.

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If you haven't bought a Steam Deck because of the price, you're in some semblance of luck. It turns out that Valve is now selling refurbished models of its handheld gaming PC at discounted prices.

The information was confirmed on the official Steam Deck Twitter page recently. Indeed, if you head over to the store page itself, you can now get repaired versions of any of the three variations of the device.

https://twitter.com/OnDeck/status/1688972619880804352

According to the tweet, supplies are limited, but they have been "fully tested" and still come with a one-year warranty. At the time of writing, the store page is currently out of the 64GB model, so they do seem to be going fast.

Currently, they are priced at $319 (£279) for the 64GB version, $419 (£369) for 256GB, and $519 (£459) for 512GB.

Rumors, rumors, rumors

Funnily enough, it came to light that "certified refurbished" Steam Decks were going to go on sale before Valve actually confirmed it. As spotted by Wario64, an image was taken from the Steam store that showed the repaired Decks on sale for a reduced price.

These images were allegedly taken down pretty quickly, but it wasn't long after that the leak was then confirmed.

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1688699624519847936

In any case, it's now come to fruition, so if you want a cheaper Deck, now seems to be the time.

The market grows

It's overall good news for those who have been waiting in the wings for the cost of a Steam Deck to go down. Of course, they have been included in recent Steam sale events, but now it seems like selling refurbished ones may be a more permanent fixture. If you don't mind a second-hand model that's been repaired, it could save you a decent amount of money.

On top of that, the mobile PC gaming market is now getting more competitive. With the ASUS ROG Ally having recently come out (which is more expensive but packs more up-to-date hardware than the Steam Deck), there's already an alternative out there.

It's also possible that Lenovo may be making its own device, so things may get crowded in this industry soon. As such, Valve may want to consider how it's going to stay on top. Selling refurbished Steam Decks is just one answer.

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If you thought annual Call of Duty releases were a thing of the past, think again. It's barely been a year since the reboot of Modern Warfare II came out, and now Modern Warfare III is nearly upon us already.

In a recent teaser uploaded to the official Call of Duty YouTube channel, it's been announced that MWIII will launch on November 10. At the time of writing, there's been no indication on what platforms the latest in the ongoing FPS series will be on. Rest assured, it will almost certainly be on the major current-gen systems, and possibly some previous-gen as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITIcmA4Zwa8

As for the teaser itself, it's just over 40-seconds long and doesn't really give a lot away. It seems this will be a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare II, which in itself is a reboot of 2009's Modern Warfare 2.

Hidden messages

Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed some numbers at the start of the clip. According to Polygon, this is actually a phone number. When a text message is sent to it, it reveals the following:

*** COMMS SECURED ***

major conflict incoming. a lot of opportunity.

we need someone like you, with experience in al mazrah

are you able to receive sensitive intel

yes / no

[upon responding yes]

good

expect mission critical intel. a taste of what’s to come

Seems very on-brand with the Call of Duty vibe.

As mentioned above, Modern Warfare II was released less than a year ago. It received fairly decent reviews and scores overall. Modern Warfare III continues the trend of Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games putting a new stamp on older entries. Will it be a rousing success? I mean, it's Call of Duty. It's going to sell in droves no matter what.

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