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

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Monday news, part two:

Path of Exile's free Betrayal expansion lets you play detective today
https://www.pcgamer.com/path-of-exiles-free-betrayal-expansion-lets-you-play-detective-today/
Path of Exile: Betrayal, the ARPG’s latest expansion, is out today. It’s a massive free update that reworks old leagues into the main game, introduces a new roster of masters and new missions, unifies hideouts, adds new skills and fattens up your dungeon delves with new maps.
>> And thanks to that, it has set a new player count record.

1997 horror shooter Blood is coming back
https://www.pcgamer.com/1997-horror-shooter-blood-is-coming-back/
It was originally released in 1997 by Monolith, and it's coming back under the care and control of Nightdive Studios, the outfit that's previously given us updates of Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, System Shock, and Forsaken.

Anthem demo sessions are coming in January and February
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthem-demo-sessions-are-coming-in-january-and-february/
If you didn't get into this weekend's alpha test for BioWare's upcoming Destiny-a-like Anthem, or if you just decided to take a pass until it's a little closer to completion, you'll still have the opportunity to try it for free before launch. EA has announced that two demo sessions will take place prior to release, one set for January for "VIPs," and another for the rest of us in February.

Rust finally gives its naked citizens underwear, electricity
https://www.pcgamer.com/rust-finally-gives-its-naked-citizens-underwear-electricity/
It's been five years since Rust arrived, treating players to dangling dongs, rampaging bears, and a ruthless multiplayer survival experience. To celebrate this anniversary, a big, world-altering update is now live. Electricity has been added to the mix of tree-chopping, rock-breaking, gun-crafting, base-building, and (recently) hot-air ballooning. Also, you can now wear underpants.

Sugar Plum Fairy Mercy will dance on your grave
https://www.pcgamer.com/sugar-plum-fairy-mercy-will-dance-on-your-grave/
After revealing two very furry new legendary skins for the upcoming Overwatch Winter Wonderland event—Zarya the Bear and Lucio the Fox—Blizzard is taking things in a little bit of a different direction with skin reveal number three. It's Mercy, and she's the Sugar Plum Fairy.

World of Warcraft's massive update launches next week, aims to fix its biggest issues
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcrafts-massive-update-launches-next-week-aims-to-fix-its-biggest-issues/
Ever since World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth launched in August, discontent has been bubbling up over its unrewarding loot system and underwhelming new features. We don't have numbers on the overall health of the expansion, but it's clear that players are pissed with Blizzard right now. That will hopefully change next week. On December 11, Battle for Azeroth's first major patch will launch. Called Tides of Vengeance, this update marks the second chapter in Battle for Azeroth's ongoing story by adding a wealth of new quests and activities. More critically, Tides of Vengeance is also hoping to fix much of what people currently hate about World of Warcraft.

Far Cry: New Dawn will bring back some familiar faces, but Boomer isn't one of them
https://www.pcgamer.com/far-cry-new-dawn-will-bring-back-some-familiar-faces-but-boomer-isnt-one-of-them/
Far Cry: New Dawn was confirmed last night at The Game Awards with a trailer showcasing a surprisingly colorful post-apocalyptic setting, a pair of new villains, and familiar guns-and-vehicles gameplay in what appeared to be a very Road Warrior-like story about an oasis of civilization struggling to survive in the midst of depredation and horror. Now we've got a new video that digs deeper into what we can expect in our return to Hope County, 17 years after the bombs fell.

Fallout 76 players are making wonderful postcards from bugs and glitches
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-players-are-making-wonderful-postcards-from-bugs-and-glitches/
Fallout 76 has a nice photomode, which is a relief because it's difficult to find a way to compliment the game these days. One of the features of the photomode is the ability to include a little postcard frame around the borders of the pictures you take. Reddit member PaulrusKeaton has been making lovely keepsake postcards from glitches, and other Fallout 76 players are joining in, painting a picture of a vacation gone completely buggy.

H1Z1 developer Daybreak Games hit by another round of layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/h1z1-developer-daybreak-games-hit-by-another-round-of-layoffs/
Daybreak Games Company, the studio behind battle royale game H1Z1 and online FPS Planetside 2, has laid off a significant number of employees.
The company did not specify how many staff were let go but its founder John Smedley, who no longer works at the developer, estimated on Twitter that 70 people had been laid off, representing nearly a third of the workforce. "70 people is a lot," he said in a tweet that has since been deleted, adding that he was "really, really angry" about the news.

Ashes of Creation MMO launches open beta for battle royale mode this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/ashes-of-creation-mmo-launches-open-beta-for-battle-royale-mode-this-month/
Ashes of Creation Apocalypse, a precursor to ambitious Kickstarted MMORPG Ashes of Creation, will launch a free open beta later this month with a 100-player battle royale mode, developer Intrepid Studios has announced.

Skater XL is a realistic skateboard sim coming to Early Access this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/skater-xl-is-a-realistic-skateboard-sim-coming-to-early-access-this-month/
"The PC needs a new skateboarding game," Mat wrote last year, and that still rings true. Session, a spiritual successor to Skate, looks promising, but is still a long way off. Could Skater XL, a newly-announced game that will enter Early Access on December 19, be the sim we've been waiting for?

Some Epic Store games are pushing back or scrapping Steam releases
https://www.pcgamer.com/some-epic-store-games-are-pushing-back-or-scrapping-steam-releases/
Satisfactory, one of the upcoming games you'll be able to buy on Epic's new store, will no longer be available on Steam, while two others—Rebel Galaxy Outlaw and Genesis Alpha One—will be timed exclusives for the Epic Store, the developers have announced.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season continues in January
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-walking-dead-the-final-season-continues-in-january/
The next episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season will be out on January 19, Skybound Games announced at today's Kinda Funny Games Showcase. You can watch a trailer for episode three, called Broken Toys, above.

Super Meat Boy Forever release window set, will be Epic Store exclusive for a year
https://www.pcgamer.com/super-meat-boy-forever-release-window-set-will-be-epic-store-exclusive-for-1-year/
Super Meat Boy Forever will be out in April 2019—and it will be an Epic Store exclusive for a year, developer Team Meat has confirmed.
The release window was announced at yesterday's Kinda Funny Games Showcase in a new trailer (above) that shows off some of the levels and bosses you'll face. Remember, unlike the original it's an auto-runner—but as Tyler wrote when he played it, that's not a bad thing.

Surreal indie RPG YIIK is finally out next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/surreal-indie-rpg-yiik-is-finally-out-next-month/
The long-awaited YIIK: A Postmodern RPG (as in Y2K) will be out on Steam next month, developer Ackk Studios has announced.
As you can tell from a new trailer, above, it's going to be utterly bizarre. It's "a Japanese-style RPG developed by Americans", and it's set in a twisted version of Earth in the '90s with "yammering skulls, tortoise samurais and living stop signs".

Valve hides cryptic Portal message inside CS:GO's new battle royale mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-hides-cryptic-portal-message-inside-csgos-new-battle-royale-mode/
Valve has hidden a cryptic Portal message within CS:GO's new battle royale mode, Danger Zone—and some fans believe it may be the start of a new Alternate Reality Game, similar to the one that led to the announcement of Portal 2.
Update: Don't get too excited: Valve says the Easter egg was just "a bit of fun."
>> I was going to warn against Valve's hints after the many Half Life 3 hints we've had over the years, but they have already done it.

The next Warframe is a furious, punchy monk
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-next-warframe-is-a-furious-punchy-monk/
The newest Warframe poised to join the titular game’s roster is Baruuk, shown off recently by Digital Extremes. Baruuk doesn’t really like fighting, but it's a bad idea to piss him off. When he gets pushed too far, he unleashes the power bottled up inside him and, as the devs explain, “kicks ass”. You can see his flashy abilities in the latest developer stream.

You can only preorder Rage 2 for Bethesda's launcher right now, not Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/rage-2-steam/
Following Fallout 76's exclusive launch on Bethesda.net, it's looking like Rage 2 could be the next game to land on the publisher's own platform first. There is no listing for Rage 2 on Steam, and third-party retailers that let you preorder the game like https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/rage-2-pc/">Green Man Gaming and https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/rage-2">Fanatical list the platform as Bethesda. Fanatical even goes out of its way to make sure you know you're not buying a Steam key, with this notice near the top of the page: "Please note that the key provided is a Bethesda.net key and not a Steam Key."

Play as Geralt in Monster Hunter: World with 2019's The Witcher 3 collaboration
https://www.pcgamer.com/play-as-geralt-in-monster-hunter-world-with-2019s-the-witcher-3-collaboration/
Geralt of Rivia will appear as part of Monster Hunter: World's next big collaboration with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The trailer above shows a little sample of what to expect. Capcom promises that you'll be able to 'step into the shoes' of Geralt, making the most of his legendary monster hunting skills, and participate in a unique quest line.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion announced
https://www.pcgamer.com/monster-hunter-world-iceborne-expansion-announced/
With the above Tweet Capcom has announced Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, which will add "new quest rank, monsters, locales, moves, and equipment" in Autumn 2019.

Swords are coming to Fortnite
https://www.pcgamer.com/swords-are-coming-to-fortnite/
In case the addition of planes last week didn't provide enough new stuff to occupy your time in Fortnite, today Epic has teased the addition of swords to the game as part of Season 7. As with the turnaround on all things Fortnite, it's likely we'll see swords added to the game in an update coming very soon.