Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two:

The next Call of Duty will be revealed before the end of June
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-next-call-of-duty-will-be-revealed-before-the-end-of-june/
The next Call of Duty will be announced before June 30, Activision confirmed in a conference call with investors. We don't have a name yet, but rumours point to it being Modern Warfare 4.

Respawn has banned 770K Apex Legends cheaters: 'We’re attacking this from every angle'
https://www.pcgamer.com/respawn-has-banned-770k-apex-legends-cheaters-were-attacking-this-from-every-angle/
Competitive multiplayer games wage a neverending shadow war against cheaters, a network of profiteers who make and sell aim-assists, speed boosts, x-ray vision, and other illicit, performance-enhancing mods.
When Respawn added its widely-requested reporting tool to Apex Legends in the March 19 Season One update, almost half a million players had already been banned for using such cheats. 44 days later, the studio now says that a total 770,000 players have been banned, partly off the back of this new reporting system.

Microsoft Solitaire bounces into the World Video Game Hall of Fame
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-solitaire-bounces-into-the-world-video-game-hall-of-fame/
It's always been there for us, during dull meetings, at working lunches, and as a way to assassinate countless long, slow afternoons. And now it's finally being properly recognized as the historic time-passing keystone of gaming it truly is. Microsoft Solitaire has been inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
>> I, too, have spend lots of boring times playing it. Next one: minesweeper.

Claptrap has a new voice actor in Borderlands 3 and this is why
https://www.pcgamer.com/claptrap-has-a-new-voice-actor-in-borderlands-3-and-this-is-why/
When Borderlands 3 arrives in September, there will be a different voice behind its most iconic character, the monocular mono-wheel machine known as Claptrap. David Eddings, who voiced the robot in all the previous games (including Telltale's Tales From the Borderlands) has been replaced by voice actor Jim Foronda over what appears to be a pay dispute.

PlatinumGames is 'designing something that has never been done before'
https://www.pcgamer.com/platinumgames-is-designing-something-that-has-never-been-done-before/
Bayonetta and Nier: Automata developer PlatinumGames has said it's working on a secret project that is "unlike anything done before".
In an interview with VGC, studio head Atsushi Inaba intimated that 2019 will be "an incredibly important year" for the studio. While he wouldn't be drawn on what or how many games it has in development, he did reveal "it’s going to be a year of some major new approaches, new challenges and new methods for us"—and at least two of the projects will be "new independent IPs owned entirely by the studio".
>> It still remains to be seen if it will come to PC, tho.

Activision Blizzard has 'very large ambitions for the Overwatch universe'
https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-blizzard-has-very-large-ambitions-for-the-overwatch-universe/
Activision Blizzard is looking for ways to further develop the Overwatch franchise, according to Blizzard boss J Allen Brack.
“Last quarter I talked about how we have very large ambitions for the Overwatch universe and how it can develop over time,” Brack told investors during the company's most recent earnings call (SeekingAlpha, via PCGN) earlier this week.

F1 2019 will include new F2 career mode when it's released—two months early—in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/f1-2019-will-include-new-f2-career-mode-when-its-releasedtwo-months-earlyin-june/
Codemasters has made two big announcements about its flagship F1 franchise. Not only is the studio bringing the release date of its annual F1 title forward by two months from August to June, but is it also adding the Formula 2 Championship to the series for the very first time.

There will soon be more PC gamers in China than the total population of the United States
https://www.pcgamer.com/China-PC-online-game-market-report-2019/
By 2023, there will be an estimated 354 million PC gamers playing online games in China—more than the entire population of the United States. That overwhelming number of players will be responsible for making China's enormous games industry an estimated $16 billion USD by that same year—and keep in mind that mobile games is an even bigger market in China.

EA adds 12 Star Wars games to Origin Access, including original Battlefront 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-adds-12-star-wars-games-to-origin-access-including-original-battlefront-2/
The 12 Star Wars games that EA has just added to Origin Access—its subscription service that lets you play a "Vault" of more than 200 games for a monthly fee—reads like a greatest hits of games from the franchise. If you're a paid up member, you can now play the likes of Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, the original Battlefront 2 and FPS Dark Forces.

Fortnite's Tilted Towers and Retail Row destroyed, drum gun returns
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnites-tilted-towers-and-retail-row-destroyed-drum-gun-returns/
Right on schedule, Fortnite's vault opened. Inside, a six vaulted items embedded within glassy columns lined the path before a massive ball of swirling energy. Just before the ball was a desk with a strange mask on top.

Epic gives away free Fortnite glider as apology for glitched Unvaulting event
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-gives-away-free-fortnite-glider-as-apology-for-glitched-unvaulting-event/
Epic Games is giving away a pricey Fortnite glider as an apology to players that weren't able to view yesterday's in-game Unvaulting event. During the event, fans voted to bring the all-powerful drum gun back into the item pool from the vault, where it was placed last year.

Indie hit Forager outlines plans for new game modes, mod support and multiplayer
https://www.pcgamer.com/indie-sensation-forager-outlines-plans-for-new-game-modes-mod-support-and-multiplayer/
2D indie game Forager—which mixes elements of adventure, survival and idle games—has been a huge hit since landing on Steam last month, and nearly 90% of its 2,000+ reviews are positive. Lone developer Mariano Cavallero, known as HopFrog, has now released a roadmap for 2019 outlining how the game will grow, and it includes plans for new game modes, mod support and multiplayer.

Spleen is a watercolor RPG about childhood nostalgia, now on Kickstarter
https://www.pcgamer.com/spleen-is-a-watercolour-rpg-about-childhood-nostalgia-now-on-kickstarter/
Spleen is part-life-sim, part-2D RPG, part-commentary on the mundanity of adult life, and it's now on Kickstarter, looking for CA$90,000 by the end of the month.
The "PC-first" game, from Montreal-based studio Pamplemousse Games, certainly looks the part: its backgrounds are wonderful watercolor creations, and the main character Johann drags a giant yellow sword behind him, much like the protagonist in Supergiant's Transistor. Combat looks flashy and acrobatic, a mixture of dashes, wall jumps and quick combos.

Plants vs. Zombies turns 10, creator shows original designs
https://www.pcgamer.com/plants-vs-zombies-turns-10-creator-shows-original-designs/
George Fan created Plants vs. Zombies 10 years ago. To celebrate that anniversary, he's been showing off his original design documents and sketches on Twitter. As you can see from his notes, originally the enemies were supposed to be aliens rather than zombies—specifically the aliens from his previous game, Insaniquarium, which he was planning to make a sequel to. Once he drew his first zombie he changed his mind, and that original sketch bears a strong resemblance to the undead who eventually made it into the game.

New video of The Sinking City has investigation, murder, and an ape man
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-video-of-the-sinking-city-has-investigation-murder-and-an-ape-man/
H.P. Lovecraft/Sherlock Holmes hybrid The Sinking City has been delayed until next month, but to tide eager fans over, Frogwares has published a new video that shows off one of the game’s early investigations. Private detective Charles Reed, who looks as though he hasn’t slept in a solid week, is brought on to look into the disappearance of a morally casual art dealer.

EVE Online celebrates 16-year anniversary with a host of free gifts and rewards
https://www.pcgamer.com/eve-online-celebrates-16-year-anniversary-with-a-host-of-free-gifts-and-rewards/
While it's May 4th and everybody's celebrating a certain sci-fi franchise, EVE Online is also celebrating. From now until May 20, 2019, you'll find a host of in-game goodies—one available for every day of the 16-day celebration—in honour of the game's sixteenth anniversary.

The Triglavians will invade EVE Online later this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-triglavians-will-invade-eve-online-later-this-month/
The universe of EVE: Online is set to get a major shake-up this month. EVE Online: Invasion launches May 28, bringing the hostile race known as the Triglavians into New Eden.
Developer CCP says it’s a literal invasion, and on a scale never before seen in the game. The Triglavians can currently be encountered in Abyssal Deadspace, the instanced PvE environment that was introduced with the Into the Abyss expansion last year. It seems they’ve gotten tired of waiting for daring pilots to wander into their front yards and are taking the fight to EVE’s more familiar systems, where CCP says they’ll be moving to the “forefront of the game.”

Hitman 2’s new Miami Pack offers the game’s first ‘real’ level, plus Sean Bean
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-2s-new-miami-pack-offers-the-games-first-real-level-plus-sean-bean/
Hitman fans may have different preferred approaches to the business of unobtrusive assassination, but they all agree on one thing: more people should play Hitman 2. IO Interactive has a new entry-level Hitman 2 package that may help entice more players into Hitman 2’s “world of assassinations.”

A Plague Tale: Innocence is full of human monsters
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-plague-tale-innocence-is-full-of-human-monsters/
Rats have gotten top billing in a lot of the preview footage of A Plague Tale: Innocence, but it’s human beings who are the game’s real monsters. That fact is highlighted in a new trailer, appropriately titled “Monsters.”

Kerbal Space Program's Breaking Ground DLC adds robotics and more experiments
https://www.pcgamer.com/kerbal-space-programs-next-dlc-adds-robotics-and-more-experiments-embargoed/
Kerbal Space Program, one of the best space games on PC, is thankfully not yet done with its exploration of the cosmos. The team's been tinkering away on the second expansion, Breaking Ground, which will focus on the noble pursuit of scientific knowledge (and sticking robotic components to ships). And you won't need to wait long for launch; it's due out on May 30.