NVIDIA quietly released a variant of the GeForce RTX 4070 featuring slower 20 Gbps GDDR6 memory, replacing the 21 Gbps GDDR6X that the original RTX 4070 comes with. Wccftech has access to a GALAX branded RTX 4070 GDDR6, and put it through benchmarks focused on comparing it to a regular RTX 4070. Memory type and speed are the only changes in specs, the core-configuration isn't changed, nor is the GPU clock speed. Wccftech's testing shows that the RTX 4070 GDDR6 measures within 0-1% slower than the RTX 4070 (GDDR6X) at 1080p and 1440p resolutions; while the difference between the two is about 2% at 4K Ultra HD.

Wccftech's test-bed is comprehensive, with 27 game tests, each across 3 resolutions; and 7 synthetic tests. The synthetic tests are mainly part of the 3DMark test suite, including Speed Way, Fire Strike, Time Spy, Port Royal, and their presets. Here, the RTX 4070 GDDR6 is nearly identical in performance, with a 0-0.2% delta with the RTX 4070 GDDR6X. In the game tests, performance varies by resolution. 1080p has 0-1% performance delta, with the only noteworthy outliers being "Metro Exodus" (extreme preset), where the RTX 4070 GDDR6 loses 4.2%, and "Alan Wake 2," where it loses 2.3%.

For gamers that ended up buying massively hyped games and found them to be quite disappointing, Valve is there to help. Valve's Steam will now allow gamers to play games for free for up to 90 minutes before forcing them to either pay to continue playing or end the game there. Starting with the new Dead Space Remake, gamers will be able to enjoy the first 90 minutes of gameplay without committing any funds towards the purchase of the game. Given that today's AAA titles can cost 59.99+ USD, this is an excellent choice for gamers wanting to try out the game before purchasing to finish the gameplay.

The new measure is already available to gamers on Steam, as the Dead Space Remake is the first to kick off the wave of 90-minute trials. Previously available for 59.99 USD, the game is on a 20% discount until May 29 and can be had for 47.99. We need to find out if more games will support this policy of free trials or if Steam will force some titles to do the same. Valve's older measures, such as refunds, are still in place; however, refunds require less than two hours of the game being played, so a refund can be valid.

Striking Distance Studios introduces the latest content update for The Callisto Protocol: "We're thankful for all of the feedback our community has shared with us! Starting today, with Update 5.01, you can skip cutscenes, improving replayability and making speed-runs even faster. We're also introducing Dismemberment Mode with Update 5.01! Introducing the new Dismemberment Mode! Get ready to tear your enemies apart limb by limb and feel the excitement of seeing instant dismemberment as you fight your way through Black Iron Prison."

The Callisto Protocol, a new sci-fi survival horror game from the creator of Dead Space, is available now on PC and Consoles. Built by a team of industry veterans led by iconic game director Glen Schofield, The Callisto Protocol is a next-generation take on survival horror that fuses brutal combat with a deeply human story in a terrifying sci-fi world. Set on Jupiter's dead moon Callisto in the year 2320, The Callisto Protocol challenges players to escape the maximum security Black Iron Prison and uncover the terrifying secrets of the United Jupiter Company. Players will need to search their surroundings and adapt their tactics, using a unique blend of shooting and close-quarters combat to survive a mysterious outbreak that has thrown Callisto into chaos.

Summon your power, stop the Everwar, save the realms. Immortals of Aveum is a groundbreaking new single-player, first-person magic shooter, created by Ascendant Studios and released by EA Originals. Experience the story of Jak as he joins an elite order of battlemages to save a world on the edge of abyss. Made by the creators of Call of Duty and Dead Space, Immortals of Aveum is set in an original fantasy universe engulfed in magic, rife with conflict, and on the verge of oblivion. Ascendant Studios is an independent team of veteran developers with BAFTA and Game of the Year award-winning experience, and EA Originals will release the studio's debut title.

Immortals of Aveum is a new single-player shooter with magic-based combat, set in a world ravaged by war. Rich lore meets intense combat in this narrative-driven FPS game, crafted for players who wish to immerse themselves in a daring adventure. Players will take control of the protagonist, Jak (played by Darren Barnett), who unexpectedly manifests magical abilities and is reluctantly thrust into mankind's endless war for the control of magic. Under the tutelage of Grand Magnus Kirkan (Gina Torres), Jak joins the elite battlemages of the Order of the Immortals, and fights to end the Everwar—a world-spanning conflict between the nations of Lucium and Rasharn, each seeking to control access to the magic flowing across the land.

The PCI Resizable BAR feature can have a major impact on the performance of "Dead Space" (the 2023 reboot). sxKYLE on Reddit discovered that his GeForce RTX 4080 "Ada" experienced a major performance jump from 76 FPS up to 111 FPS (+46%) with resizable BAR enabled. NVIDIA Profile Inspector was used to enable resizable BAR for the game. The feature allows the CPU to see the graphics card's video memory as a single, continuously-addressable block, rather than through 256 MB apertures. We can imagine how "Dead Space" in particular could benefit from the feature, as the game's campaign is a single continuous action sequence with assets being constantly streamed to the GPU (and no level load screens).

NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 528.24 WHQL introduces optimization for DLSS 3 support on "Hitman 3," "Marvel's Midnight Suns," and "Deliver us Mars." The drivers add day-zero optimization for "Dead Space" (2023 remake) and "Forspoken." Among the issues fixed with this release include stability improvements with Adobe Photoshop Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom; Photoshop 24.1 instability with GeForce 528.02 when using GeForce Experience; ProRes RAW files appearing completely black in previews in Adobe Premiere Pro; transparent windows appearing opaque in Autodesk Alias; and OctaneBench 2020 failing intermittently due to renderer failure. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 528.24 WHQL

We're already approaching the end of January and this coming week we're looking at both a new AAA title and a remake of an older AAA title that also gets a collectors edition. In other words, a lot of exciting things are happening, if you're looking at getting a new or old game with improved graphics to play.

Forspoken / This Week's AAA Title / Tuesday 24 January
Mysteriously transported from New York City, Frey Holland finds herself trapped in the breathtaking land of Athia. A magical, sentient bracelet is inexplicably wrapped around her arm, and Frey discovers the ability to cast powerful spells and use magic to traverse the sprawling landscapes of Athia. Frey nicknames her new golden companion "Cuff" and sets off to find a way home.

Motive, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced during their Crafting the Tension Art Developer Livestream that Dead Space will officially launch on January 27, 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Dead Space is a remake of the classic sci-fi survival horror game that is being rebuilt from the ground up leveraging the Frostbite game engine. Still remaining true to the original game's thrilling vision, the remake offers enhanced audio and crisp, harrowing visuals that have been carefully reimagined to evoke a new level of immersion and quality.

"Developing this remake has been a lot of fun for us at Motive, as we're true fans of the franchise and want to treat it with the respect it deserves. It's been equally exciting to see players' reactions as we're taking them on this development journey with us," said Phillippe Ducharme, Senior Producer of Dead Space. "We're making great progress on our road to hitting Alpha and we're happy to announce that the game will be launching in January next year. We can't wait for players, both old and new, to see how we've elevated the original experience in the remake to be just as impactful for this generation."

Motive, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), today announced during EA Play Live 2021 the sci-fi classic survival horror game, Dead Space, will be returning as a remake completely rebuilt from the ground up. Dead Space is being developed exclusively for next generation consoles and PC, raising the level of horror and immersion to unprecedented heights for the franchise through stunning visuals, audio and controls powered by the Frostbite game engine. Fans will experience an improved story, characters, gameplay mechanics and more as they fight to survive a living nightmare aboard the desolate mining starship, the USG Ishimura, all while uncovering the dreadful mystery of what happened to the slaughtered crew and ship.

"The Dead Space franchise made a huge impact on the survival horror genre when it was released 12 years ago, and I came to Motive as a fan first to specifically work on this game," said Phillippe Ducharme, Senior Producer of Dead Space. "We have a passionate team at Motive who are approaching this remake as a love letter to the franchise. Going back to the original and having the opportunity to do so on next-gen consoles excited everyone on the team. As we look to modernize the game, we've reached out to dedicated fans and invited them to provide us with feedback since the early stages of production to deliver the Dead Space game they want and for new players to enjoy as well."