Steam+ Deals Mega Thread (All PC Gaming Deals)

Neuro5i5

Neuro5i5

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This thread will attempt to provide a place to discuss past/present/future PC gaming deals. While mainly focusing on Steam games, any standout sales may also be presented. I will not be updating every Daily/Weekly/etc. sale. The tools to help individuals become a smarter shopper will be provided below.

See this POST for links to store sale pages, threads of interest and other tools to help you become a more informed PC game shopper.
 
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So, I got all my SSDs straightened out thanks to Best Buy. Now I'm looking at my current/future CPU cooling. And I have to ask, what is the CAG consensus on AIOs? Specifically, reliability/longevity of the more budget AIOs. I'm looking at the sub $100 range, specifically some of the ID-Cooling 240mm units. (Amazon reviews with one year update failures scare me.) For reference I'm currently running a Phanteks PH-TC14PE (albeit with 120mm fans vs the stock funky 140mm ones due to height constraints) and the wife is using a Hyper 212 Evo. We're both on Haswell (refresh), but will likely be going to Ryzen (I have a 1700X I may give her). 

So...

AIO because more cooler = more better or Stay air because KISS

 
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On the lower-mid end, a good air cooler is as effective as an AIO.  On the high end, an AIO is superior for cooling (high end also usually implies a longer radiator).  An AIO has more points of potential failure.  But an AIO also usually means you need fewer fans since you don't need to draw air in, then through the fin stack and then out again -- the cooling happens in the first or last stage and there's no need for a middle stage.  So even if the mid-range AIO isn't cooling "better", it's quite possibly cooling quieter.  I suppose there might be case-specific issues as well, like how well a large air cooler stack fits in your box but you can just measure and purchase around that.  You pick your poison.

I lean towards AIOs because I like the noise reduction and rely on the law of averages to not sweat the (tiny overall) chance of catastrophic failure.  Also, they're just neat.  But there's a sound argument to be made for an air cooler as well.  My current build has an AIO on the CPU and another AIO on the GPU though and I like it.

I can't speak for reliability of each model but, since the main bugbear with AIOs is the chance of failure, I'd try to stick to well reviewed and known brands even if you're not going top of the line.

 
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I used at least 3 or 4 versions of Corsair water cooling and they all worked fine. I've also helped setup a custom one before. As long as it's well designed, it will be fine, and they do run very cool especially when overclocking is done. Don't use unknown brands at least.

 
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Syntax Error said:
On the lower-mid end, a good air cooler is as effective as an AIO. On the high end, an AIO is superior for cooling (high end also usually implies a longer radiator). An AIO has more points of potential failure. But an AIO also usually means you need fewer fans since you don't need to draw air in, then through the fin stack and then out again -- the cooling happens in the first or last stage and there's no need for a middle stage. So even if the mid-range AIO isn't cooling "better", it's quite possibly cooling quieter. I suppose there might be case-specific issues as well, like how well a large air cooler stack fits in your box but you can just measure and purchase around that. You pick your poison.

I lean towards AIOs because I like the noise reduction and rely on the law of averages to not sweat the (tiny overall) chance of catastrophic failure. Also, they're just neat. But there's a sound argument to be made for an air cooler as well. My current build has an AIO on the CPU and another AIO on the GPU though and I like it.

I can't speak for reliability of each model but, since the main bugbear with AIOs is the chance of failure, I'd try to stick to well reviewed and known brands even if you're not going top of the line.
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Yea to go a long with this. Its really dependent on the models of each you are looking at. I.e. if you compare the big noctua tower air cooler, it matches up pretty well with any of the high end AIOs and cools better and is quieter than any of the cheaper ones. However AIOs also provide you a much larger heat dissipation area thingy place....... whatever, so that in general AIOs will be able to handle bursty temps (like AMDs tend to do) much better just because they dont have to ramp up their fans right away to compensate, but like syntax said you then have to deal with added complexity and failure points, so its trade offs

Personally I still run with air (its taking me a while to get over my last aio failing 2 builds ago where my pc would idle at 85c and I had no clue about it) but Im leaning towards going back with whatever the next build I do is in like 5-10 years

 
dualrec said:
My email came last thursday, but I passed since I'm building my first pc... which of course went more expensive then I planned. But still fun to learn.
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That's exciting! I have never built one, closest is swapping up Video Cards and adding memory (doesn't count I know). Good Luck!

 
Yea, I've been looking at stuff recently about AIO too, now that video cards have been easier to get.  Not at all knowledgeable about AIOs, so feel free to correct me.

Seems like if you go even to a relatively mid-ranged 12th gen Intel like the 12600K, you'd want a $100 fan or AIO, so the price is pretty close to even.  If you're doing like a Ryzen 5600, you can still get away with a fan more easily.

Part of me wants a 12600K for the DDR5 support, but a 5600 system would be so much cheaper.

 
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Hey, old folks. I know you’re out there, watching. Complaining about us younger types. Get your shingles shots if you’re over fifty and they’ll letcha. I spent most of the past three weeks dealing with shingles and it sucks about as much as all those obnoxious shingrix ads imply. Also the nerve pain medication they gave me has left me with severe insomnia as a parting withdrawal gift.

Yes, you have to be over fifty to get the shots. Lucky old morans don’t know how good you’ve got it.
 
Souffrir said:
Hey, old folks. I know you’re out there, watching. Complaining about us younger types. Get your shingles shots if you’re over fifty and they’ll letcha. I spent most of the past three weeks dealing with shingles and it sucks about as much as all those obnoxious shingrix ads imply. Also the nerve pain medication they gave me has left me with severe insomnia as a parting withdrawal gift.

Yes, you have to be over fifty to get the shots. Lucky old morans don’t know how good you’ve got it.
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Along with that, don't forget to get your colon cancer screenings. I'm heading close to 50 and have had a few of those already (due to other issues) but would hate to see people not getting the tests for things that can be detected and controlled early.

 
And don't forget about prostate exams either. Prostate cancer effects 1 in 3 men, just make sure the Doctor only puts 1 hand on your shoulder while they do it.

 
Souffrir said:
Hey, old folks. I know you’re out there, watching. Complaining about us younger types. Get your shingles shots if you’re over fifty and they’ll letcha. I spent most of the past three weeks dealing with shingles and it sucks about as much as all those obnoxious shingrix ads imply. Also the nerve pain medication they gave me has left me with severe insomnia as a parting withdrawal gift.

Yes, you have to be over fifty to get the shots. Lucky old morans don’t know how good you’ve got it.
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Thanks for the reminder
 
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so..... super thanks to all who gave me pc build guidance and advice.  :bow:   This post is the first from my very own custom built with my own hands pc  :D/  :whee:   I'm so excited.  Went smooth and running great so far.  Went over budget, but I had a lot of fun.

 
dualrec said:
so..... super thanks to all who gave me pc build guidance and advice. :bow: This post is the first from my very own custom built with my own hands pc :D/ :whee: I'm so excited. Went smooth and running great so far. Went over budget, but I had a lot of fun.
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Awesome! Glad to hear. So, what cha got for specs?

Mobo? CPU? GPU? Power supply (PSU)? RAM? SSD space? HDD space (if any?) Windows 10 or 11? Monitor?

 
MysterD said:
Awesome! Glad to hear. So, what cha got for specs?

Mobo? CPU? GPU? Power supply (PSU)? RAM? SSD space? HDD space (if any?) Windows 10 or 11? Monitor?
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Let's see... tried for a modest build. aimed for around $1k, wound up just over $1500... no regrets though

Razer Tomahawk ATX chasis

Asus ROG b550-f wifi

AMD Ryzen 5600x

Evga 3060 Ti

Corsair 850x psu (I know it's overkill, for possible future upgrades)

32G RAM so far (Corsair Vengeance)

WD Black SN770 M.2

connected an old 1TB sata drive from a ps4 hdd swap

adding 2 fans up front just to be safe

windows 10 because I had a free key

using my older Samsung 27 curved 2k 144hz monitor. (no hdr or fancy sync's, might get one with hdr later)

This thing is running insanely fast so far. Boots from complete power off in maybe 10-15 seconds, haven't actually timed.

 
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Embracer buys out a lot of Square Enix's Western Division.

Embracer Group just bought out a good deal of Square Enix & their Western IP's for $300 million.

Sources:

Venture Beat - https://venturebeat.com/2022/05/01/embracer-agrees-to-buy-crystal-dynamics-eidos-montreal-square-enix-montreal-and-their-ip/

Embracer Group's details on this purchase - https://embracer.com/release/embracer-group-enters-into-an-agreement-to-acquire-eidos-crystal-dynamics-and-square-enix-montreal-amongst-other-assets/

Notes & details:

- Embracer Group are the Swedish owners of THQ Nordic, Deep Silver & Saber Interactive. and THQ Nordic.

- Embracer just bought out most of the Western IP's and Studios from Square Enix for $300 million.

- This purchase includes these studios: Eidos Montreal, Square Enix Montreal & Crystal Dynamics.

- Some of the IP's purchases include Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain, and...

- ...Also more than 50 back-catalogue games from “Square Enix Holdings.”

EDIT:

- Ninja'd by BMXJouster. Nice job, BMX!

EDIT 2:

Embracer, Eidos Montreal, and Deus Ex sequel.

Eidos Montreal is ready to go for developing a Deus Ex sequel & will be their 1st game from Eidos under the Embracer banner; and they want to do it on Unreal Engine 5.

Sources:

Shacknews - https://www.shacknews.com/article/130122/deus-ex-ip-will-be-revived-by-eidos-montreal-with-embracer-group-deal-update

Engadget - https://www.engadget.com/embracer-acquires-eidos-square-enix-montreal-and-other-studios-for-300-million-091019083.html

There are many questions surrounding what this all means for gaming, but one thing has become clear during Sunday's conference call: Embracer now has a lot of IPs and it's planning to bring a big one back. Deus Ex is about to make a return.

"At this time, we are crazy people who have decided to revive the Deus Ex IP as our first game," Eidos Montreal Studio Head David Anfossi said during the Embracer Group conference call. "A new team, a very complex production, a new tech, and a new studio, an easy challenge."

As an introduction to the Embracer Group, Anfossi showed off a number of stats relating to the franchise. That includes the console game sales that have exceeded 12 million units, more than 2 million paid mobile downloads for Deus Ex: The Fall and Deus Ex: GO, and the 83 percent Metacritic average.

A Deus Ex announcement coming almost immediately after this acquisition news is a good indicator that Embracer feels almost the exact opposite of these North American studios as their former owners at Square Enix. Square famously lashed out at its North American studios, frequently singling them out as major sales losers, despite high critical and consumer acclaim.

Deus Ex was among them and while Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda insisted that the franchise wasn't dead in a 2017 GamesIndustry.Biz interview, the lack of any new Deus Ex titles over almost a decade seemed to indicate otherwise.

There's no word on when a new Deus Ex would be ready. However, the fact that it's even on the radar at all should be cause for celebration. We're monitoring the breaking news of this Embracer acuisition of Square Enix's North American studios and looking to decipher what it all means. Keep it on Shacknews, because we're just getting started with this story.

 
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Embracer, Eidos Montreal, and Deus Ex sequel.

Also, more to the Embracer group thing here.

Eidos Montreal is ready to go for developing a Deus Ex sequel & will be their 1st game from Eidos under the Embracer banner; and they want to do it on Unreal Engine 5.

Sources:

Shacknews - https://www.shacknews.com/article/130122/deus-ex-ip-will-be-revived-by-eidos-montreal-with-embracer-group-deal-update

Engadget - https://www.engadget.com/embracer-acquires-eidos-square-enix-montreal-and-other-studios-for-300-million-091019083.html

There are many questions surrounding what this all means for gaming, but one thing has become clear during Sunday's conference call: Embracer now has a lot of IPs and it's planning to bring a big one back. Deus Ex is about to make a return.

"At this time, we are crazy people who have decided to revive the Deus Ex IP as our first game," Eidos Montreal Studio Head David Anfossi said during the Embracer Group conference call. "A new team, a very complex production, a new tech, and a new studio, an easy challenge."

As an introduction to the Embracer Group, Anfossi showed off a number of stats relating to the franchise. That includes the console game sales that have exceeded 12 million units, more than 2 million paid mobile downloads for Deus Ex: The Fall and Deus Ex: GO, and the 83 percent Metacritic average.

A Deus Ex announcement coming almost immediately after this acquisition news is a good indicator that Embracer feels almost the exact opposite of these North American studios as their former owners at Square Enix. Square famously lashed out at its North American studios, frequently singling them out as major sales losers, despite high critical and consumer acclaim.

Deus Ex was among them and while Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda insisted that the franchise wasn't dead in a 2017 GamesIndustry.Biz interview, the lack of any new Deus Ex titles over almost a decade seemed to indicate otherwise.

There's no word on when a new Deus Ex would be ready. However, the fact that it's even on the radar at all should be cause for celebration. We're monitoring the breaking news of this Embracer acuisition of Square Enix's North American studios and looking to decipher what it all means. Keep it on Shacknews, because we're just getting started with this story.

 
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Does this mean we won't get the enjoy the cycle of Square-Enix releasing pretty decent games but then bitching that they "disappointingly underperformed" for not selling like a Final Fantasy title?

 
Wonder how dire things are at Square Enix for them to sell all that for $300 mil. That seems way too low. I have a hard time believing they shopped around at all, because I'm pretty sure MS or Sony would have paid more than that
 
Seems like Square is downsizing to focus on the animu stuff.  Not that Embracer Group is anything amazing but at least they've shown initiative in perpetuating the more popular brands from THQ Nordic and Deep Silver rather than shelving them.  Good to see Deus Ex will get dusted off along with possibly another shot at Thief and Legacy of Kain.

 
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The little I played of Overwatch (during free trials, etc.), I wasn't particularly impressed.  Much like Heroes of the Storm compared to traditional MOBAs, Blizzard tries to capture a more 'casual' market by making streamlined iterations of more successful IPs.  I couldn't really think of anything Overwatch did better than TF2 unless people just really need a massive variety of abilities.

 
Would you say that acquisition for $300mil is a better or worse deal than buying a rusted out tanker ship for ~$57 billion, that's losing double digit share value by the month?

 
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Nothing- said:
Would you say that acquisition for $300mil is a better or worse deal than buying a rusted out tanker ship for ~$57 billion, that's losing double digit share value by the month?
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Actually, I'm surprise Sony or Microsoft didn't gobble this up and pay $500m.

One of them basically could've had their own Cyberpunk 2077 w/ having Deus Ex IP and having Eidos Montreal make Deus Ex 5 - but yeah, those Deus Ex games are A LOT better (over CP 2077)...except The Fall and Invisible War.

HR DC and MD Complete - even despite MD's incomplete-ness story-wise & arc-wise - are still both much better games than CP 2077.

And we all know Deus Ex 1 is a masterpiece. I'd love for that to get properly Remastered.

 
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MysterD said:
Actually, I'm surprise Sony or Microsoft didn't gobble this up and pay $500m.

One of them basically could've had their own Cyberpunk 2077 w/ having Deus Ex IP and having Eidos Montreal make Deus Ex 5 - but yeah, those Deus Ex games are A LOT better (over CP 2077)...except The Fall and Invisible War.

HR DC and MD Complete - even despite MD's incomplete-ness story-wise & arc-wise - are still both much better games than CP 2077.

And we all know Deus Ex 1 is a masterpiece. I'd love for that to get properly Remastered.
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I thought it was pretty low too until I saw what Square Enix released. They spent a lot in producing those games but the profit margins they got were pretty low. They were not able to get value out of them but that doesn't mean another company won't be able to.

https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/20220502%20A_Press%20Release_fin.pdf

 
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newegg has some pc parts on sale.

G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C18D-32GTZR 134.99 

No idea if that's a good deal/brand since I don't keep track of pc prices. 

 
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I got my e-mail yesterday for the 256GB Steam Deck  (I pre-ordered July 16th @ 1:16 pm CST).  So now here are some free keys while I wait for SHIPPING of said Steam Deck  :D

I did keep (The Last Tinker: City of Colors & Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos)

Probably the "worst" collection of games in a bundle I have received.  Not bad considering I may never have found the 2 I decided to keep.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw (already owned)

QNNFA-7620E-HBICH

A New Beginning: Final Cut (point and click)

NX9JB-GCQN6-CIQKC

Witch It (Multiplayer Hide and Seek, sadly I have no friends)

TY2T4-E88AM-QZLL9

Jane Angel: Templar Mystery (hidden object)

TLY3G-TT3YQ-AFFK9

Stalingrad (RTS)

HYZ3J-YJ053-JP2MZ

Driftland: The Magic Revival (owned)

FQTJ7-LVXRZ-ALT6B

Anna's Quest (art looks like Professor Layton)

P5K0T-E3TI7-WQJ62

Point Perfect (relies on a mouse, as much as I have read about ti)

W7AVI-J48JZ-KBWYL

 
Steam Deck was delivered as I was at the drive in window for Taco Bell’s $5 breakfast box … I probably made some bad life choices today, but I can’t lie, that new breakfast box with a bacon breakfast burrito, hash browns, 2 Cinnabon things and a coffee was pretty damn tasty.
 
Wish there was a way to know if keys had been used other than people finding out they had already been claimed.  I do enjoy doing this on Mondays (my post was originally done on a Tuesday) and Thursdays so as long as no one has an issue I plan on continuing.  Kind of fun because some posts go way over my head here! 

 
etcrane said:
Steam Deck was delivered as I was at the drive in window for Taco Bell’s $5 breakfast box … I probably made some bad life choices today, but I can’t lie, that new breakfast box with a bacon breakfast burrito, hash browns, 2 Cinnabon things and a coffee was pretty damn tasty.
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I went with steak the one time I had it and WISHHHH Taco Bell did breakfast all day.

 
I 'need' amazon to repeat the deal on the Razer Iskur they apparently had back in december for 299. Course never cared about it at all till I built this pc and realized how much razer and black/green I have around my office.
 
I got my deck last Friday and so far it's pretty awesome. The most intensive thing I've played is black Mesa and it runs great (with pauses for loads that are mildly irritating). As is known, battery life is meh but I haven't had to stop playing to charge it. I'm always done playing and then plug in after. Lowest I saw was around 50 %. The fans are noticeably loud but I've gotten used to them already. The speakers are really good! I wasn't expecting that at all.

Yesterday I went through the process of setting up the epic client to play hades and it worked like a charm. I would highly recommend using a Bluetooth mouse/kb if you delve into desktop mode though. Navigating and typing with the deck controls were the only hassle of setting it all up
 
ToddManG said:
Yesterday I went through the process of setting up the epic client to play hades and it worked like a charm.
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I really do not understand the whole idea of setting up clients...i hope it makes more sense to me once I have the Deck in hand. I do not even have an Epic account. Kind of figured whats the point with Steam out there (yes I have been brain washed i get it).

 
valiki7375 said:
I really do not understand the whole idea of setting up clients...i hope it makes more sense to me once I have the Deck in hand. I do not even have an Epic account. Kind of figured whats the point with Steam out there (yes I have been brain washed i get it).
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Its just cause epic throws out free games like candy to try to get a customer base, so lots of people just have a large backlog over there. Also ones like origin(though not so much anymore) and ubi, where there are some great games you can only play via their own clients like riders republic and cheaper versions of assassin's creed games

 
Yeah I guess...just having all the systems (not switch OLED) I feel more comfortable palying those games on console (Riders and Assassins), it's just PC does better with RTS and Strategy games as well as the huge backlog I have on Steam don't think I need to rush out just to be another number at Epic (see, told you I have been properly brainwashed).

Way back I had a laptop with Ubuntu on it and half the fun was getting steam games to run...then once I got them runnung I would move on to the next game.  Again, really didn't know what I was doing but following someone else down a rabbit hole.

 
valiki7375 said:
Yeah I guess...just having all the systems (not switch OLED) I feel more comfortable palying those games on console (Riders and Assassins), it's just PC does better with RTS and Strategy games as well as the huge backlog I have on Steam don't think I need to rush out just to be another number at Epic (see, told you I have been properly brainwashed).

Way back I had a laptop with Ubuntu on it and half the fun was getting steam games to run...then once I got them runnung I would move on to the next game. Again, really didn't know what I was doing but following someone else down a rabbit hole.
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Some thoughts on linking-up PC and HDTV's:

- You can connect your PC up to a HDTV if it's right nearby via a wire, provided you have the rights wires & ports on both ends (HDMI, DP, whatever).

- I bought & ran once a 25 ft. HDMI wire (or so) from my PC up to the ceiling all around to my 1080p HDTV.

- You send the signal virtually & digitally (from PC to HDTV) if you have the means to do & it ain't far away...i.e. some TV's have built in Steam Link, such as some Samsung HDTV's.

- My 4K Samsung TV has this built in, just download Steam Link app & link the PC's & HDTV's together.

- You connect a controller to your PC; Xbox for Windows (and newer) gamepads should work right out-the-box w/ Windows.

- Steam has built-in controller support for all kinds of different controllers.

- Plenty of controller programs/app's out there for PC also, in case you need to force a certain controller & certain game to work; especially with older games.

valiki7375 said:
I really do not understand the whole idea of setting up clients...i hope it makes more sense to me once I have the Deck in hand. I do not even have an Epic account. Kind of figured whats the point with Steam out there (yes I have been brain washed i get it).
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About Epic Store Freebies and other games on Epic:

- Free Games that you can get sooner there for Free (i.e. Control base-game hasn't been free on Steam, meanwhile it has been Free on Epic once before).

- Free Games there you just don't even have to buy elsewhere (i.e. Steam, Origin, wherever).

- Sometimes Epic's version for a free game includes ALL DLC's/expansions & is a Complete Edition (i.e. see Prey 2017).

- Saving $ is the CAG Way around here.

- Some games are Epic Exclusive for a while...and you might not be able to get it elsewhere for a while (6 months, a year, whatever) or even at all.

- Many UbiSoft games since The Division 2 have been skipping Steam entirely, so you either wind-up w/ an Epic-version (which you can link to UPlay & just instead use UPlay for those linked-Ubi games; and/or just get a Uplay version).

- Some games on Epic are DRM-FREE & work offline, while Steam's version is still laced with Steamwork DRM stuff and/or other junk like Denuvo (i.e. such as Prey 2017 w/ Mooncrash DLC, Vampyr and Batman AK).

 
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I honestly just bought the Steam Deck to tinker and mess around. I don’t really have a use case that requires a portable system, but I’ve always gone for gaming laptops and then never really use them to game because my consoles or desktop almost always makes more sense. What I do enjoy is hacking systems and getting emulators running, see what other potential I can unlock. I feel like the Steam Deck is going to be a fun little system to customize and see what I can get running. Seems like it will also help hold me off from getting a new laptop until at least 2023 .. and by then maybe I’ll want a desktop upgrade, who knows.

Tangent …I still find the Series X disappointing. It’s there and it has plenty of games, but nothing unique that I can only play on Series X. I think that’s why the Steam Deck excites me, I can play plenty of old Steam library games in a new format. But while that’s fine with the portable novelty, I want new experiences on my consoles and Series X just isn’t delivering imo. I’m really only keeping it because Starfield will be exclusive … otherwise I probably would have already sold it.
 
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