Epic takes another swing at Valve

Valve could have a second VR headset in development with a standalone design similar to what’s currently offered by Facebook’s lineup of Oculus Quest headsets. Evidence for the new headset was brought to light by YouTuber Brad Lynch. He found multiple references in Valve’s SteamVR code to a device codenamed “Deckard” which he then cross-referenced against the company’s recent patent applications.

Amazon Games' new MMO, New World, is already the most-played game on Steam this year, despite mixed reviews and struggling servers.

Remedy has announced a full remaster of its cult classic Alan Wake, due to arrive this fall on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC (via Epic Games Store). Perhaps more excitingly, it opens the door more than ever for Alan Wake 2 to come down the line.

As Ars Technica confirmed in May, two months ahead of its official reveal, Valve is about to re-enter the hardware space with its first portable PC, the Steam Deck. This custom x86 PC resembles an XL version of the Nintendo Switch and will begin shipping to buyers by the end of 2021, starting at $399.

Whichever way you look at it, the Steam Deck is not your average gaming PC setup. Which is why Valve tells us it is planning a tool for developers that will make optimising their games for the handheld Deck PC that little bit simpler.

Valve has not had great luck making hardware. The Steam Controller failed to revolutionize the controller scene despite its innovative design, the Steam Link worked well but was muscled out by a less-impressive app, and the ballyhooed Steam Machines basically faceplanted right out of the gate. The Index is an impressive unit, but hasn't sparked a meaningful uptick in VR adoption since its release.

In a new video with IGN, Valve talked a bit more about the technical capabilities of the Steam Deck and its AMD processor, stating that even games releasing this year "have been running without issues."

Thumbstick drift is a nasty and frustrating problem that seems to have become more common on some consoles and devices. Valve is aware of these issues and says it has done a bunch of tests and picked high-quality and reliable parts to avoid the “risk” of stick drift becoming a problem with Steam Deck devices.

In the world of stealth gaming PCs, it doesn’t get much better than cramming a rig into a retro console. Along those lines, a modder managed to cram a Ryzen 4650G APU, 2TB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and a dual-band Wi-Fi chip into a Sega Dreamcast shell to create the perfect stealth mini PC for retro fans.

Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead and Ironcast will replace The Spectrum Retreat…

This space RTS game looks promising, and is due out later this year

I didn’t expect to play five hours of Going Medieval in one sitting right after installing it. I spotted the game on Steam’s top-selling charts, it looked neat, and I gave it a try. Suddenly, after what only felt like a few minutes, I looked up at the clock and realized I had spent hours building, managing, and tinkering with my medieval settlement. And I can’t wait to get back to it.

Nvidia today announced at Computex 2021 that it's partnered with Valve to bring its Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) graphics tech to Linux via Steam Proton. Now people who game on Linux systems should be able to put their Nvidia graphics cards—including the new GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti—to even better use. DLSS is Nvidia's solution to the problem of improving a game's performance without having to compromise too much on presentation.

Steam has long been locked to PC hardware, but that may soon change. According to Gabe Newell, Steam very well could come to consoles.

Valve Games suppresses innovation in the gaming market and is harming gamers with its anticompetitive practices, a class action lawsuit claims.

The writer and creative director of Days Gone says that players shouldn't "complain if a game doesn't get a sequel" if they didn't buy it "at f-cking full price". In an interview on David Jaffe's YouTube channel, John Garvin was asked if the game's debut on Sony's PlayStation Plus subscription service had sparked new interest in the title.

Rinse and repeat.

Death Stranding first found success as a PS4 exclusive, but the game has evidently done very well on PC, as well. Publisher 505 Games' parent organization Digital Bros has shared the game's impressive revenue figures in its latest financial report, and it dwarfs the company's other games.

Serious Sam, Croteam's massively over-the-top first-person shooter series, is 20 years old this week, and the developer has surprised fans by launching a substantial free update for Serious Sam 2 on PC as part of its birthday celebrations.