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

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Monday news, part two:

Mass Effect director talks up original trilogy devs returning for the new game
https://www.pcgamer.com/mass-effect-director-talks-up-original-trilogy-devs-returning-for-the-new-game/
The Mass Effect teaser that dropped at last night's Game Awards was a big moment, even though it really didn't tell us much at all. (...)
After the show was over, Mass Effect project director Michael Gamble fired off a few tweets about some of the people working on the game, and like the teaser, they also put emphasize the pre-Andromeda trilogy.

World of Warcraft's pacifist panda just hit level 60 by picking millions of flowers
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcrafts-pacifist-panda-just-hit-level-60-by-picking-millions-of-flowers/
World of Warcraft is all about killing stuff—heck, it's in the name—but one player has been defying that mandatory violence for years. His name is Doubleagent, and he's a pacifist pandaren monk who just reached the new level cap of 60 by picking millions of flowers. What's even more impressive is that he's done it all without ever leaving the Wandering Isle, a start zone only meant for players below level 10.

Genshin Impact's 1.2 update adds first new map expansion and two playable characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impacts-12-update-adds-first-new-map-expansion-and-two-playable-characters/
Genshin Impact's 1.2 update, The Chalk Prince and the Dragon, arrives on Dec 23rd and feature's the game's first new map expansion, Dragonspine.
Dragonspine's a frozen mountain range located south of Mondstadt, which adds a new mechanic in the form of a 'Sheer Cold' bar: the weather extremes will force players to keep their characters warm in both combat and exploration. It also contains "unique creatures, a lost ancient civilization, bountiful ingredients, rare artifacts, and recipes for multiple 4-star weapons."

Amazon's Lord of the Rings MMO likely coming in 2022
https://www.pcgamer.com/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-mmo-likely-coming-in-2022/
The free-to-play Lord of the Rings MMO co-developed by Athlon Games and Amazon, to be published by Amazon outside of China, looks to be coming in 2022. Athlon Games is a subsidiary of Leyou, which was recently acquired by Tencent, and disclosure documents filed as part of that acquisition have revealed the game—among others from Leyou—is "expected to be launched from Q4 2021 to Q1 2023. In short, expect the new Lord of the Rings MMO in 2022 on PC. It's supposedly set long before the book trilogy. My money's on Angmar.

A sequel to classic roguelike ADOM is coming next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-sequel-to-classic-roguelike-adom-is-coming-next-year/
A sequel to ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery is on the way next year, with developers Team ADOM planning to release into Early Access on February 11th, 2021. Ultimate ADOM - Caverns of Chaos will be a proper sequel to the roguelike, which is famous for being in continual development for 25 years. The sequel is by the original developers, who have in recent years built an upgraded version of ADOM on Steam.

Cyberpunk 2077 developers will be paid bonuses regardless of review average, according to leaked email
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-developers-will-be-paid-bonuses-regardless-of-review-average-according-to-leaked-email/
Bloomberg reports that a leaked email from executives at CD Projekt informed developers they would receive full bonuses for their work on Cyberpunk 2077. Prior to that, the bonuses apparently required Cyberpunk 2077 achieve specific goals in terms of both its critical reception and release date.

CDPR apologises for some of Cyberpunk 2077's launch woes, promises regular updates and improvements
https://www.pcgamer.com/cdpr-apologises-for-some-of-cyberpunk-2077s-launch-woes-promises-regular-updates-and-improvements/
Cyberpunk 2077's launch is not going smoothly, and one of the most unpleasant surprises is how badly it's been running on the last generation of console hardware. Essentially the game was promoted with high-end PC graphics and, look, to our console cousins: we're here for you. Hard to think of a more quintessentially PC experience than a badly optimised and buggy launch title, but now everyone gets to share in the joy.

The Hitman 3 opening cinematic shows why IO Interactive were a great choice for a Bond game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-hitman-3-opening-cinematic-shows-why-io-interactive-were-a-great-choice-for-a-bond-game/
The Hitman 3 opening cinematic, which was released today via IGN's Youtube channel, doesn't really give much away. You watch Agent 47 and a stranger travel through Saudi-Arabia, through cities and deserts, by car and by plane. The unknown man presumably narrates the reason for the trip: "A kind of company, known as Providence. To it, we were just assets, to use and throw away, to do the unthinkable, the unforgivable. And it never gave us a second thought, until now."