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 news:

SALES & DEALS

Fortnite earned a massive $2.4 billion in 2018
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-earned-a-massive-dollar24-billion-in-2018/
In case you were in any doubt that Fortnite has practically exploded in popularity since it's launch, figures from SuperData's latest report show that the battle royale earned $2.4 billion in 2018.
According to the report from SuperData (via GI.biz) Fortnite earned more digital revenue than any other game in 2018, contributing to the 11 percent rise in digital game revenue across all platforms. It seems to have also succeeded in pushing up the revenue for free-to-play console games by 458 percent over the 2017. Just to give you an idea of how far ahead Fortnite is, the second highest revenue game was Nexon's Dungeon Fighter Online with $1.5 billion.

 

GOG has a new midweek sale, You point at it, you buy it, with up to 90% discounts on a selection of adventure games for the next 2 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190116_midweek_sale

Steam's daily deal is Niche - a genetics survival game, 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/440650/Niche__a_genetics_survival_game/

At Fanatical, we have three new deals:

• Curve Digital has its games on sale, up to 80% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/curve-digital
• As part of that sale, the game Bomber Crew has a 24h flash sale with a 70% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/bomber-crew
• And the game War for the Overworld and its DLCs are up to 75% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/search?search=war%20for%20overworld

 

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

Unity changes terms of service again, says Improbable is no longer in violation
https://www.pcgamer.com/unity-changes-terms-of-service-again-says-improbable-is-no-longer-in-violation/
In the wake of last week's blowup with Improbable over the use of the SpatialOS cloud platform in games built on the Unity engine, Unity has once again updated its terms of service, this time to state explicitly that developers are free to use any third-party service they want. CTO Joachim Ante said in a blog post that went up today that developers using Unity own the content of their games and "should have the right to put it wherever you want," and acknowledged that the December 5 TOS update that started the dispute with Improbable "didn't reflect this principle."

 

MODS/EMULATORS

Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu, gets disk-based cache, sees tremendous performance improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nintendo-switch-emulator-gets-disk-based-cache/
Fans of the popular Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu, will be happy to know that the first videos showcasing the integration of a disk-based cache surfaced today on YouTube. BSOD Gaming has just released a video showcasing the new disk-based shader cache at work in Super Mario Odyssey running on the emulator.
In truth, the team at Yuzu has lately been making incremental improvements to their emulator at an astounding pace. The emulator was only able to play its first game in July 2018, and to have Super Mario Odyssey now at a fully playable state (from start to finish) is an admirable feat in itself.
However, the recent addition of a disk-based or loadable shader cache is a truly exciting development since this means your CPU should be able to access texture data at a much faster rate. The result is that multiple Switch games currently bootable on the emulator (Pokemon Let’s Go, Arms, Bayonetta, Splatoon, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) should exhibit significant performance boosts in FPS.
An update has also been added to Yuzu’s asynchronous GPU emulation which means that rendering tasks can now be assigned to multiple cores on your CPU. The results speak for themselves in BSOD’s video as Super Mario Odyssey could run at over 100 FPS in certain parts (albeit on a very high-end PC).

Final Fantasy 9 receives an ESRGAN AI-enhanced Beta HD Texture Pack, available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-9-receives-an-esrgan-ai-enhanced-beta-hd-texture-pack-available-for-download/
Since the reveal of ESRGAN, an AI technique that can enhance the textures of older games, a lot of gamers have been waiting for HD texture packs for the classic Final Fantasy games. And while there is currently one in the works for Final Fantasy 7, a beta version of an HD pack is currently available for download for Final Fantasy 9.
Created by ‘Ze PilOt’, this AI-enhanced HD texture pack can be downloaded from here. Now since this is a beta release, the modder stated that there might be some issues with it.
For example, gamers may experience corrupted backgrounds or bad animations. In case you experience such issues, you should report them to the modder (obviously with a screenshot and the location).

 

GAMING NEWS

Story trailer released for Metro Exodus [UPDATE: Gameplay footage]
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/story-trailer-released-for-metro-exodus/
Deep Silver has released the story trailer for Metro Exodus. According to the publisher, this trailer explores the hostile world of the game that lies in wait for the crew of the Aurora as they flee the ruins of Moscow and embark on an epic year-long journey into the unknown.
UPDATE: Apparently this trailer is old and we’ve already shared it. Apparently I was looking forward to the story trailer of The Division 2 and I mistakenly assumed that there was also a new story trailer for Metro Exodus (especially since its preview embargo was lifted today). But anyway, below you can find a new 10-minute gameplay footage from IGN, showing the game’s Desert map.
>> And there are also new screenshots.

Story trailer released for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/story-trailer-released-for-tom-clancys-the-division-2/
Ubisoft has just released the story trailer for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. According to the publisher, seven months have passed since a deadly virus hit New York City and the rest of the world, crippling the population. When the virus hit, The Division, a unit of civilian sleeper agents, was activated as the last line of defense and since then, Division agents have been fighting relentlessly to save what remains.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey patch 1.1.3 addresses manual save crashes, available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/assassins-creed-odyssey-patch-1-1-3-addresses-manual-save-crashes-available-for-download/
Ubisoft has released a new patch for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey that fixes a really frustrating issue that appeared via its previous update. According to reports, there were some frustrating crashes when players were trying to load their manual saves.

Here are 10 minutes of the Hidden Depths mission in Anthem
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-10-minutes-of-the-hidden-depths-mission-in-anthem/
A new video has been released by IGN which follows the ‘Hidden Depths’ mission in EA’s most anticipated game of 2019, Anthem. The video showcases Interceptor, Storm, and Colossus exo suits, or ‘javelins,’ completing a mission to find a secret manuscript hidden within a high tower.

Dead or Alive 6 will be better optimized on the PC than Dead or Alive 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dead-or-alive-6-will-be-better-optimized-on-the-pc-than-dead-or-alive-5/
In an interview with professional player Kayane, Yohei Shimbori, producer on Dead or Alive 6, has revealed some new details about the PC version. Dead or Alive 6 is coming to the PC alongside its console version and according to its producer, the team had a PC version in mind from the get-go.
>> We'll see.

Power Rangers Battle for the Grid is a new fighting game, first gameplay trailer leaked
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/power-rangers-battle-for-the-grid-is-a-new-fighting-game-first-gameplay-trailer-leaked/
A new Power Rangers game appears to be coming to current-gen platforms (consoles and PC), called Power Rangers Battle for the Grid. The game has been leaked via its debut gameplay trailer and appears to be a new fighting game.

New gameplay trailer for DiRT Rally 2.0 showcases stages and cars
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-for-dirt-rally-2-0-showcases-stages-and-cars/
Codemasters has today released the latest trailer for DiRT Rally 2.0, showcasing the pace, intensity and thrill of playing through FIA World Rallycross Championship events. Alongside all the traditional rally content in the career and historic rally modes, Dirt Rally 2.0 will launch with eight tracks from the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship, including new locations to the series: Mettet, Silverstone and Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya.

Fast-paced top-down shooter, The Hong Kong Massacre, releases on January 22nd, gets new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fast-paced-top-down-shooter-the-hong-kong-massacre-releases-on-january-22nd-gets-new-gameplay-trailer/
VRESKI has announced that the fast-paced, top-down shooter that is inspired by classic action movies, The Hong Kong Massacre, will release on January 22nd. In order to celebrate this announcement, VRESKI has also released a new action-packed gameplay trailer that you can find below.

Futuristic arcade racer, Xenon Racer, releases on March 26th + new screenshots & gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/futuristic-arcade-racer-xenon-racer-releases-on-march-26th-new-screenshots-gameplay-trailer/
SOEDESCO has announced that the futuristic arcade racer Xenon Racer will be released on March 26th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has released some new screenshots and a gameplay trailer. This new trailer exhibits all the seven different racing locations in the game, including four new tracks in North-America, France and China.