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

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Thursday news, part two:

Telltale Games to return under new management
https://www.pcgamer.com/telltale-games-to-return-under-new-management/
Telltale Games is (at least on paper) returning to business, as reported earlier today by Polygon. Holding company LCG Entertainment (run by industry veterans Jamie Ottilie and Brian Waddle) have bought up the studio name and some of their licensed properties after Telltale's messy closure last September left hundreds of staff displaced. Effectively a new studio with new management operating under an old name, the new Telltale will be based in Malibu, California, with plans to "stay small over the next six months".

Ubisoft executive thinks that Steam's business model is 'unrealistic'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-executive-thinks-that-steams-business-model-is-unrealistic/
Ubisoft isn't too impressed with how Steam is doing business these days, at least according to Chris Early, the publisher's Vice President For Partnerships And Revenue, speaking to the New York Times. He's not the only voice critical of the monolithic digital retailer either.

Cyberpunk 2077 character creator drops male and female options in favor of 'body type'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-character-creator-drops-male-and-female-options-in-favor-of-body-type/
For all the positive responses that CD Projekt's upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 has enjoyed, one area where it hasn't gone over particularly well is in its portrayal of gender. It was initially designed to be playable as male or female but some critics noted that binary gender delineation falls well short of themes expressed in actual cyberpunk—a shortcoming highlighted by the presence of in-game ads seen by some as transphobic.

Multiple men in the games industry accused of sexual abuse or assault
https://www.pcgamer.com/multiple-men-in-the-games-industry-accused-of-sexual-abuse-or-assault/
On Monday, Tetrageddon developer Nathalie Lawhead published a blog post about her time working at an unnamed developer in Vancouver. Titled 'Calling out my rapist', it alleges that composer Jeremy Soule raped Lawhead after meeting her at a party and striking up a friendship. In the days since Lawhead made the allegation against Soule, more members of the industry have come forward to share their own experiences of abuse, accusing several industry men of unwanted advances and sexual assault. Update: Late Wednesday, composer Jeremy Soule sent a message to Kotaku stating: "These 11 year old allegations are false. I am shocked and saddened that these outrageous claims have been made." Kotaku spoke to another woman who had worked with Soule in 2014, who stated that Soule sent her a video of him masturbating. When she told Soule that she wanted to keep their relationship professional, she said she was "blocked and removed from a project [she] was proposed to work on." Soule told Kotaku "I don’t agree with her point of view, and I’m not at liberty to discuss." Original story appears below.

Shovel Knight Dig will take the pixellated platformer underground
https://www.pcgamer.com/shovel-knight-dig-will-take-the-pixellated-platformer-underground/
Five years after the release of the original Shovel Knight, developer Yacht Club Games has dropped word that a new game is on the way. Shovel Knight Dig is a collaborative effort between Yacht Club and Nitrome that will tell an all-new story about Shovel Knight and his dastardly nemesis, Drill Knight.

Bloodlines 2's first faction is the old money Pioneers
https://www.pcgamer.com/bloodline-2s-first-faction-is-the-old-money-pioneers/
The first Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 faction to be revealed is a newcomer to the series. The Pioneers were among the earliest to settle in Seattle, which they view as a "last frontier," free from the ancient power structures of other cities. But their hold on power has weakened in recent years, and they've been forced to cede control over all but some minor parts of the city. Their idealism, romanticism, and fierce independence carries echoes of the Anarchs, but they hold themselves apart from their more "hot-headed" brothers and sisters.

Control has a deeply weird cameo from a famous game developer
https://www.pcgamer.com/control-has-a-deeply-weird-cameo-from-a-famous-game-developer/
Back in March, an image of Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima doing some voice recording "for the other Sam" made the rounds on Twitter. Sam is the name of Norman Reedus' character in Death Stranding, but who was the other Sam?

The next Apex Legends event will (probably) be about Wraith
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-next-apex-legends-event-will-probably-be-about-wraith/
Respawn kicked off an Iron Crown Collection event in Apex Legends earlier this month that landed with a thud for a lot of fans. The biggest issue was that some in-game items, particularly Legendary skins, were only available through event-exclusive Iron Crown packs. It was a complicated event but the simple version is that costs were very high—the "Raven's Bite" Heirloom weapon for Bloodhound effectively costs $170—and players weren't happy.

John Carmack wishes Rage had been released earlier
https://www.pcgamer.com/john-carmack-wishes-rage-had-been-released-earlier/
John Carmack, wearing a t-shirt that reads "I don't get older, I level up," was recently interviewed on an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience. The co-founder of iD Software and CTO of Oculus discussed—among other things—the release of Rage, one of iD's less well-received games. Rage picked up several "game of show" awards at E3 in 2010, four years into its development, but when it finally came out in 2012 it the response was muted.

World Of Warcraft Classic is 'substantially' boosting player capacity
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcraft-classic-is-substantially-boosting-player-capacity/
In order to combat the enormous queues to get into its World Of Warcraft Classic servers, Blizzard has announced via the official forums that it is "substantially increasing the number of players that can be simultaneously logged in and playing". There's no specifics on exactly how many more players are being let in, but it sounds like the capacity hotfix was deployed last night.

Try grisly metroidvania Blasphemous before the demo vanishes on Sunday
https://www.pcgamer.com/try-grisly-metroidvania-blasphemous-before-the-demo-vanishes-on-sunday/
The gore-soaked, darkly religious world of Blasphemous is yours to tour today, although you'd best get in quick. The time-limited demo vanishes on Sunday, September 1st, with the full game launching on September 10th.
>> The demo is only available from Steam, but the game will launch on Steam and GOG.

Total War: Warhammer 2's next DLC adds its biggest, stompiest dinosaur yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-warhammer-2s-next-dlc-adds-its-biggest-stompiest-dinosaur-yet/
When it comes to Total War, and especially Warhammer games, bigger is always better. It's good news, then, that The Hunter & The Beast DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2 is upping the ante on September 11th with the game's biggest and most absolute unit yet; the Dread Saurian, which you can see in the trailer below.