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

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Let's go with the Friday news!

SALES & DEALS

The Witcher 3 is selling better in 2019 than it did last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-3-is-selling-better-in-2019-than-it-did-last-year/
CD Projekt recently took a look back at the first half of 2019, and it saw some interesting things. Cyberpunk 2077 preorders have been going well, particularly on GOG: One-third of all digital PC preorders have been on CD Projekt's own platform. But the primary driver behind the company's financial performance is actually The Witcher 3, despite the fact that it was released more than four years ago.
"Our financial result for the first half of the year was again mainly affected by sales of The Witcher 3, which remain strong. This further confirms our belief that investing in top-quality games pays off, and that such games may continue to sell well for many years," CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said. "In the first half of 2019 gamers actually purchased more copies of The Witcher 3 than during the first half of the previous year!"

Celeste and Inside go free on Epic Games Store, with another two next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/celeste-and-inside-go-free-on-epic-games-store-with-another-two-next-week/
While both ostensibly about running and jumping, Celeste (by Matt Makes Games) and Inside (by Playdead) have shockingly few things in common, beyond them both being excellent and completely free on the Epic Games Store for the next week.
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Make sure you grab these two now to add to your account and keep forever. This time next week, they're getting swapped out for an oddly similar pair of games. The End Is Nigh is a darkly humorous (if positively sadistic) platformer from one of the makers of Super Meat Boy, and Abzu is a surprisingly soothing game about deep-sea exploration and hanging out with cool fish.

On the Humble Store, it's the End of the Summer Sale, so go check it out.

At Fanatical, there's a new Build Your Own Retro Bundle, with 18 games to choose from for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-retro-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

CRYENGINE 5.6 is now available to developers, featuring more than 1000 changes to the engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cryengine-5-6-is-now-available-to-developers-featuring-more-than-1000-changes-to-the-engine/
Crytek has announced that CRYENGINE 5.6 is available now for all game developers. According to the team, this major new release includes over 1,000 changes to the engine. Crytek has also released a CRYENGINE 5.6 technology video, showcasing just some of the new features in the engine.
CRYENGINE 5.6 includes new features, enhancements, and improvements across the engine. Thus, the engine gives developers more power, making game creation quicker and easier. The key features of this brand new version are: In-Editor Project Management, Area Lights, Particle Ribbons and Full-Body Ragdoll IK.

Valve will fight European Commission's anti-competition ruling against Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-will-fight-european-commissions-anti-competition-ruling-against-steam/
Early this year, the European Commission launched an investigation into six game companies—Valve, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home Interactive, Koch Media, and ZeniMax—over "suspected anti-competitive practices." In April it released a preliminary finding that the practice of geo-blocking games, which restricts the ability of people to buy games based on their home location, violates EU competition rules.
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Since then, according to a Reuters report, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home Interactive, Koch Media, and ZeniMax have all agreed to settle the case. The terms of the settlement aren't known, but Reuters said that under EU antitrust rules, companies are given a ten percent reduction in their fines for admitting to wrongdoing. Valve has decided to fight the charges, however, and is now expected to seek a hearing with European Commission competition regulators and "national watchdogs" to argue its case.

MODS/EMULATORS

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GAMING NEWS

First gameplay trailer released for Jumanji: The Video Game
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-trailer-released-for-jumanji-the-video-game/
Bandai Namco has released the first gameplay trailer for Jumanji: The Video Game. In addition, the publisher has announced that the game’s release date has been moved up by a week to November 8th for all platforms.

The worst PC racing game ever made, Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing, gets a remaster in 2020
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-worst-pc-racing-game-ever-made-big-rigs-over-the-road-racing-gets-a-remaster-in-2020/
Now here is something that came out of nowhere. Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing is often described as the worst PC racing game ever made. And today, Stellar Stone Devolopment announced that it is working on a Remaster for the PC that will come out in 2020.

New WRC 8 videos detail its physics system and level design
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-wrc-8-videos-detail-its-physics-system-and-level-design/
Bigben and KT Racing have released the latest glimpse behind the scenes of WRC 8. Through two Dev Diaries, KT Racing’s Art Director, Amaury Beyris, and Physics Designer, Jérémy Lolieux, shed some light on the game’s level design and physics.

Narrative-driven VR game, Westworld Awakening, is now available on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/narrative-driven-vr-game-westworld-awakening-is-now-available-on-steam/
Westworld fans, here is something for you today. Warner Bros and Survios have announced that the official VR game for the Westworld series, Westworld Awakening, is now available on Steam. Westworld Awakening is a narrative-driven experience in which you assume the role of a host, Kate.

Here is your first look at The Settlers, new video showing 16 minutes of gameplay footage
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-is-your-first-look-at-the-settlers-new-video-showing-16-minutes-of-gameplay-footage/
PCGames.de has shared a video, showing 16 minutes of gameplay footage from The Settlers. The Settlers uses the Snowdrop Engine and we can finally take a look at it. And while the video is in German, there are some English subtitles that you can enable.

Sniper Elite V2 Remastered Patch 3 released, brings general gameplay, AI & visual improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sniper-elite-v2-remastered-patch-3-released-brings-general-gameplay-ai-visual-improvements/
Rebellion has released a brand new patch for Sniper Elite V2 Remastered. According to the release notes, patch 3 addresses several low-repro stability issues that were evident during gameplay and features general localization improvements.

Here are two hours of gameplay footage from the Gamescom 2019 demo of Need for Speed: Heat
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-two-hours-of-gameplay-footage-from-the-gamescom-2019-demo-of-need-for-speed-heat/
At Gamescom 2019, Electronic Arts presented a playable demo for Need for Speed Heat. Thus, below you can find a video showing two whole hours of gameplay footage from it. This video will give you an idea of what you can expect from this new Need for Speed game. Since we’re talking about a 2-hour video, we strongly suggest checking it out, especially if you are fans of the series.

Here are 3 minutes of new gameplay footage from the CRYENGINE-powered action RPG, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-3-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-the-cryengine-powered-action-rpg-wolcen-lords-of-mayhem/
WOLCEN Studio has released a new video, showing 3 minutes of gameplay footage from Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem. Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is a new action RPG that uses Crytek’s CRYENGINE, and is currently available on Steam Early Access.

Gears 5 will support Asynchronous Compute and AMD FidelityFX Tech
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gears-5-will-support-asynchronous-compute-and-amd-fidelityfx-tech/
Microsoft and The Coalition have shared some new PC tech details about Gears 5. According to the teams, the PC version will support Asynchronous Compute, Multithreaded Command Buffering, as well as AMD’s new tech, FidelityFX.

Here are 8 minutes of gameplay footage from the PAX West 2019 demo of Streets of Rage 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-8-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-the-pax-west-2019-demo-of-streets-of-rage-4/
At PAX West 2019, DotEmu presented a new demo for Streets of Rage 4. As such, below you can find a video showing almost 8 minutes of gameplay footage from that demo. We strongly suggest watching this gameplay video, especially if you are old-school beat ’em up fans.

Once Upon A Time In Roswell is a new first-person psychological horror game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/once-upon-a-time-in-roswell-is-a-new-first-person-psychological-horror-game/
TinyBuildGames has announced Once Upon A Time In Roswell; a new first-person psychological horror game that is coming to PC in late 2020. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher released the game’s debut trailer that you can find below.