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

[JEMC]

Thursday news:

SALES & DEALS

Tactical FPS “Squad” has sold more than one million copies
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tactical-fps-squad-has-sold-more-than-one-million-copies/
Offworld Industries has announced that their tactical FPS, Squad, has sold more than 1 million copies while in Early Access. To commemorate the achievement, Offworld has released Squad’s Alpha 13 update which adds new tanks, squad roles, game modes, and more to the game.

Star Wars Battlefront arrives on Steam and GOG, as May the 4th sales begin
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-battlefront-arrives-on-steam-and-gog-as-may-the-4th-sale-begins/
Pandemic's 2004 game Star Wars Battlefront has come to Steam and GOG, as Star Wars Day approaches. While Battlefront 2 has been on Steam for a long time, this is kind of a surprise—there are some key differences between each game, particularly in the choice of maps, but I doubt many people expected this 14 year-old shooter to pop up in 2019. User AnthonyBF2 has created a guide for getting online with the game, if you're keen. It's got a launch discount on both Steam and GOG, too.
Rhen Var lives! Though you could always download the maps from the first game with the Conversion Pack mod for Battlefront 2.
(...)
Star Wars Day is named as such, of course, based on the sweaty pun 'May the 4th be with you', and it means loads of Star Wars games will be on-sale on both Steam (expect those deals to go live later today) and GOG. Star Wars fans probably know which are the essential purchases, given that most of the great games based on that universe are ancient history, now. KOTOR 1 and 2, the Jedi Knight series, the X-Wing series, Republic Commando and Rogue Squadron are all safe bets. Peruse our best Star Wars games list for more recommendations.
>> GOG's sale features up to 65% discounts and will last until May, 9th. We'll know the Steam one once it starts.

Surprisingly, both of Steam's daily deals are actually that, daily:

• The Early Access game Volcanoids is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/951440/Volcanoids/
• And EARTHLOCK gets a 56% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/761030/EARTHLOCK/

On the Humble Store, the Flash Deal is Terraforming Mars, 40% off for the next 3 days (just like on Steam, as I said yesterday): https://www.humblebundle.com/store/terraforming-mars

And at Fanatical, there's a new Star Deal... which hasn't refreshed yet, so I don't know what's about. Besides that, the game SHENZHEN I/O is 50% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/shenzhen-i-o.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Capcom removes Denuvo anti-tamper tech from Resident Evil 2 Remake by mistake, executable file leaked online
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/capcom-removes-denuvo-anti-tamper-tech-from-resident-evil-2-remake-by-mistake-executable-leaked-online/
It appears that someone at Capcom has accidentally published a Denuvo-free version of Resident Evil 2 Remake. While the company has re-implemented the anti-tamper tech in the game, the Denuvo-free executable file has been leaked online, and those interested in such a version can get it and enjoy the game without having Denuvo running in the background.
Without going into a lot of details, the Denuvo-free version is based on the latest 1.04 game version and is around 170MB in size (the executable file with Denuvo is around 362MB in size).
>> Ooops! XD

Epic exclusives Borderlands 3 and Metro Exodus are now on the Humble Store
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-exclusives-borderlands-3-and-metro-exodus-are-now-on-the-humble-store/
(...) Epic also announced today that Saber Interactive's co-op zombie shooter World War Z has now surpassed 320,000 copies sold on the Epic Store, and that Coffee Stain's Satisfactory has become the studio's best PC launch ever—even bigger than the great Goat Simulator.
(...)
Anno 1800 and Metro Exodus had "the best PC launches in their respective franchise's history," Epic said, and Metro Exodus is also the top-grossing game on the Epic Games Store. The new Metro is also now available for purchase on the Humble Store, thanks to a deal between Epic and Humble Bundle that was announced in March at GDC. Dangerous Driving is also up for grabs on the Humble Store, and Borderlands 3 is available for preorder.
>> Besides giving us more options, this also confirms that the tweets from earlier this week about Satisfactory were only a very bad joke.

Ubisoft is trying to wipe out key reselling with 'silent key activation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-is-trying-to-wipe-out-key-reselling-with-silent-key-activation/
Ubisoft has teamed up with digital distribution firm Genba Digital to change its method of selling PC games through third-party stores like Fanatical and Games Republic. The new process is called 'silent key activation' and activates games on platforms like Steam and Uplay automatically rather than giving out codes to retailers and customers. From now on, Ubisoft will only sell games through sites that use SKA.
Instead of giving a retailer a massive list of keys that could theoretically be pinched or resold, no keys actually pass hands. Genba, which also won't have direct access to the keys, sets up a keybank that will distribute keys one-by-one, with each of them being recorded before the next one is sent out, and then the game will be activated on the customer's account.

MODS/EMULATORS

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GAMING NEWS

Borderlands 3 will feature microtransactions for cosmetics, 45 minutes of gameplay footage revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/borderlands-3-will-feature-microtransactions-for-cosmetics-45-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-revealed/
Gearbox has announced that Borderlands 3 will feature micro-transactions for cosmetic items. Randy Pitchford and Paul Sage made it clear that the game won’t have any “pay-to-win microtransactions” that can give gameplay advantages to those that acquire them.

Epic Games has purchased Psyonix, Rocket League will be Epic Games Store exclusive in late 2019
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/epic-games-has-purchased-psyonix-rocket-league-will-be-epic-games-store-exclusive-in-late-2019/
Epic Games has announced that it has acquired the creators of Rocket League, Psyonix. Moreover, Rocket League will come to the Epic Games Store as an exclusive title in late 2019, meaning that the game will no longer be sold on Valve’s distribution service, Steam.
>> Apparently, they had a strong relationship for years now, so the operation wasn't that hard to do. Still, it's a very controversial move.

The Division 2 Update 3 Release Notes – Operation Dark Hours, Better Ultra AA, Text Chat improvements & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-division-2-update-3-release-notes-operation-dark-hours-better-ultra-aa-text-chat-improvements-more/
Ubisoft has detailed the next major update for The Division 2 that will be made available to everyone later this month. According to the release notes, Update 3 will add the first 8-player raid, Operation Dark Hours.