NVIDIA will show off its next-generation Pascal architecture at their GPU Technology Conference last week, where we should be introduced to the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 video cards - with their purported cooler shrouds teased just a couple hours ago.

We could be surprised, and NVIDIA could unveil their new Pascal-powered Titan X successor - which is something I think we'll see. I think NVIDIA will unveil the GP100 GPU, rocking 16-32GB of HBM2 and a price of $1000-$2000 (I'd say $1499 for the 16GB HBM2 version and $1999 for the 32GB HBM2 card). NVIDIA could then drop the GTX 1080 for something like $599, rolling with GDDR5X - still providing a large increase in performance over the GTX 980 and GTX 980 Ti - with thanks given to the 16nm node and the new Pascal architecture.

Steam's no-refunds policy has raised the ire of gamers for years now, but never before have they pissed off a Government. Yesterday, that all changed.

In an Australian court yesterday, Valve's Steam Refund Policy was found to have resulted in "misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations to Australian consumers" in action brought by the Government's competition watchdog, the ACCC.

In an Australian-first, the court decreed that digital goods were just as subject to the same laws that govern the sale of physical goods, and the same consumer laws apply. Speaking on the court victory, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said "The Federal Court's decision reinforces that foreign based businesses selling goods and/or services to Australian consumers can be subject to Australian Consumer Law obligations, including the consumer guarantees".

The long-running lawsuit between Oracle and Google over the latter's use of Java in Android just got spicier: Oracle is seeking up to $9.3 billion in damages according to recent court filings. Lawsuit damages aren't typically a worry for the ever-rich Google, but an amount this high is plenty enough to worry even the search giant, which made $4.9 billion in profits last quarter.

The suit began in 2010 and went to trial two years later, where the jury was divided on whether Google was protected under fair use laws. A new trial is set for May 9 with a pre-trial scheduled for April 27; Oracle's Larry Ellison and Google's Eric Schmidt will take the stand, among other faces.

The new figure is about 10 times the original amount Oracle asked for, a reflection of Android's growth and subsequent releases. Google has hired a damages expert, presumably to push the figure way down. While its counter-offer isn't public, another filing indicates at least a portion of the damages are capped at $100 million. With a disparity this large, it's plausible the jury will settle somewhere in the middle (around $4.6 billion in this case, or one quarter's worth of profits for Google as opposed to two).

Last week it was a smart frying pan; this week it's a smart rice cooker. Chinese company Xiaomi, which already has several smart appliance products, is launching the $150 Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker in collaboration with partner Chun Mi, which aims to improve on the traditional rice cooker with added features.

Firstly, the app will let you scan your bag of rice so the cooker knows exactly what to do based on the type of rice you're using as well as its brand and origin. 200 brands are supported, with more to come. Second, it employs pressure control, induction heating, and a grey cast iron lining as highly regarded Japanese rice cookers do, all with the aim of creating tastier rice. And finally, it can make rice cakes as well as other dishes.

The price may seem steep, but Xiaomi says its cooker is comparable to the aforementioned Japanese rice cookers, which go for about $600. If you're a rice nerd (if there ever was such a thing), it could be well worth it.

The Snapchat team is looking to revolutionize online communication further with its Chat 2.0 update. One of the goals with it is to make speaking and video chat a seamless transition from text chat; one tap will now do the trick. But it goes further than that.

"You can start by sending a few chats, and when your friend shows up, start talking or video chatting instantly with one tap," they explain. "Your friend can simply listen if you want to sing them a song, or watch if you have a new puppy to show them. If they aren't there, you can quickly send an audio note to say what you mean. And sometimes, a sticker says it best."

"What we love most about the new Chat is how easily you can transition between all these ways of communicating - just like you do in person. When that's possible, you aren't texting, calling, or video chatting... you're just talking. We've been working on this redesign for a while - we can't wait to hear what you think!"

The resume of a motion capture actress may have inadvertently revealed Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor 2.

According to Nerdleaks, Shadow of Mordor 2 was previously listed on the resume page for Lauren Mary Kim, a seasoned stunt and motion capture actress who's worked on games such as BioShock: Infinite and Elder Scrolls Online. At the time of writing, any mention of the sequel has been scrubbed from the page, possibly indicating that Warner Bros. stepped in to yank the mention.

Due to Shadow of Mordor's cliffhanger ending, it's not exactly a surprise that the game is getting a sequel. The original was praised for its breakthrough Nemesis system and Assassin's Creed-like mechanics, receiving generally favorable reviews. So it's only natural that Warner Bros. and Monolith turn the game into a franchise.

Not every publisher is necessarily on good terms with GOG.com due to the DRM-free nature of the service, but more seem to be warming up to their way of business. 2K Games has decided to start offering their older library of games on GOG.com and are having a sale from now until April 5th to celebrate that decision.

2K Games was (and continues to be) a powerhouse of a publisher that happens to have quite a few different and great franchise under their control. They've decided to start offering their retro-classics in a DRM format for everyone to enjoy, opening up the different ways to play these classics without having to build a retro PC. The sale going on has several different bundles (listed below) from 66-75% off.

Although Ubisoft hasn't officially announce Watch Dogs 2 yet, pre-orders for the sequel are now live on GameStop's UK site.

GameStop UK's Watch Dogs 2 pre-orders don't give us any actual information on the game--the release date is TBC, and stock logos are used for box art--but their existence actually tells us a lot. Pre-orders typically follow a major game reveal, as publishers and devs are keen on raking in as much cash as soon as possible to finance further development. When pre-orders open before the reveals, however, that usually means the announcements will follow soon after. Keep in mind Watch Dogs 2 is only listed on the GameStop UK site.

We can then postulate that Ubisoft will unveil Watch Dogs 2 at this year's E3 expo in June, and open up global pre-orders after the official reveal. Ubisoft has already confirmed that Watch Dogs 2 will launch by 2017, and it'll have significant advantages on PC. AMD recently confirmed that Watch Dogs 2 will tap DirectX 12 and be fully optimized for AMD video cards.

It's only just been a day since three games joined the Xbox One compatibility list, but now one more game is being added, bringing the list up to 141. Major Nelson announced on Twitter that Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 is now playable on the Xbox One.

This means that if you happen to have a copy of the physical disc laying around, you'll be able to pop it in and fire it up once again, or go to the Xbox 360 portion of the Xbox Store and download it if you own a digital copy. This is now the fourth re-release of playable games in two weeks for the Xbox One backwards compatibility program and the second Valve game to join the list.

Microsoft is adamant about bringing as many games as is possible by keeping lines of communication open between them and publishers and developers. Just yesterday Soul Calibur II, Halo Wars and The King of Fighters '98 made it on the list while last week we saw the original Assassin's Creed and Dark Souls also become fully backwards compatible. Performance is looking of these games within the emulated virtual machine seems to be improving from the hiccups that affected earlier games.

UPDATE: Before you download the Survival Mode beta, be sure to back up your save files and disable all PC mods. Bethesda issued an official warning on its community forums, but the actual Survival Mode announcement on Bethesda.net doesn't at all mention mods or backing up saves.

Now that Fallout 4's new Survival Mode is now up on Steam for beta testing, Bethesda reveals the treacherous rigors of the new difficulty.

Fallout 4's new Survival Mode is absolutely grueling. While the new difficulty is far beyond "hard", it'll add a whole new dimension to the game, making players actually think about their decisions and strategies rather than blasting through everything. Bethesda has injected challenge back into the game, and in a way, the Commonwealth has been reborn. Hell, Bethsoft even equates the difficulty to Dark Souls. Check below for a few of the changes you can expect in the new Survival Mode.