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

[JEMC]

Friday news, part two:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant move closer with every patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/counter-strike-global-offensive-and-valorant-move-closer-with-every-patch/
Something funny's been going on recently in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and I'm not just talking about my sick AWP ace on Overpass last night. Around a month ago Valve released a CS:GO patch that removed bots from competitive play, an attempt to address the perennial problem of toxic teams kicking underperforming players. The timing was interesting because the issue was so longstanding: why make this change now?

ZeniMax CEO Robert A. Altman has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/zenimax-ceo-robert-a-altman-has-died/
Robert A. Altman, who co-founded Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media in 1999, has died.
Altman launched ZeniMax with Bethesda Softworks founder Christopher Weaver, after which Altman assumed the CEO role. Bethesda remained the more well-known name among gamers, but the ZeniMax name became more prominent with the launch of the ZeniMax Online Studios division in 2007.

Why Chinese developers are worried about Steam China launching next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/why-chinese-developers-are-worried-about-steam-china-launching-next-week/
Steam China, a version of Steam exclusive to residents of China, is finally launching into beta on February 9.
The regular version of Steam is usable in China, excluding the social features, although it technically shouldn't be according to Chinese government regulations, and it's never been completely clear why. For years, Valve and its Chinese business partner Perfect World have teased work on a government compliant version of Steam that would only feature games that were approved for sale in China. Yesterday, Dota 2's Chinese blog confirmed the impending release of Steam China, and relayed specifics on how Chinese players can migrate their regular Steam accounts onto the new Steam China platform.

Burn the galaxy to the ground in the next Stellaris expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/stellaris-new-expansion-nemesis/
Have you ever woken up and felt like destroying the galaxy as we know it? Of course you have, and that's exactly what you can do in Nemesis, the next Stellaris expansion. Paradox Interactive announced the new content pack today with a flashy cinematic trailer teasing "the most powerful tools and mechanics" ever seen in the interstellar strategy game.

Overwatch's Lunar New Year event adds five Epic skins and a Bounty Hunter brawl
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatchs-lunar-new-year-event-adds-five-epic-skins-and-a-bounty-hunter-brawl/
The Overwatch Lunar New Year event for 2021 is now underway, with a new Bounty Hunter brawl and a chance for players to score some in-game rewards icons, sprays, and Epic skins.

Hearthstone celebrates the Lunar New Year with some pricey Three Kingdoms hero skins and new quests
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-celebrates-the-lunar-new-year-with-some-pricey-three-kingdoms-hero-skins-and-new-quests/
When Hearthstone's Darkmoon Races mini-set went live a couple weeks ago, players quickly noticed the presence of four new hero portraits, and references to something called a "Three Kingdoms Bundle." Blizzard declined to comment on any of it at the time, but today it revealed what it's all about: An upcoming Lunar New Year celebration in Hearthstone with new Legendary quests, the return of the Lunar Blessing Tavern Brawl, and Romance of Three Kingdoms-inspired hero skins.

BioWare is working with the modding community on Mass Effect: Legendary Edition compatibility
https://www.pcgamer.com/bioware-is-working-with-the-modding-community-on-mass-effect-legendary-edition-compatibility/
The Mass Effect trilogy has a healthy modding community, responsible for everything from full texture revamps through to mods that speed up those bloody lumbering elevators. But with the announcement of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, there exists the possibility that all that hard work could be rendered obsolete.

Raven Software says Call of Duty: Warzone's infinite stim glitch has been fixed, and maybe it has?
https://www.pcgamer.com/raven-says-warzones-infinite-stim-glitch-has-been-fixed-and-maybe-it-has-who-knows-at-this-point/
I'm feeling a bout of déjà vu right now, how about you? In October of 2020 I wrote about how Infinity Ward said Warzone's infinite stim exploit had been fixed. Briefly, it's based on a glitch that gives you infinite tactical items (including healing stims) if you throw a grenade, pick it up, die, and then get revived. (...) The latest set of patch notes are up on Treyarch's website, although with a note that they'll be migrating to Raven Software's site in the future, and they're the team responsible for it. The patch notes begin by mentioning there's a "New fix to remove infinite stim glitch" and that the "Issue stemmed from players getting stuck in throwback state after throwing back a live grenade". But you'd be forgiven for taking that with a grain of salt, given the exploit's recurrences so far.

Resident Evil Village locations have been mapped out thanks to a collector's edition bonus
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-village-locations-have-been-mapped-out-thanks-to-a-collectors-edition-bonus/
The scariest part of Resident Evil Village isn't the dark pits, shambling monsters, or nine-foot-tall vampire women. It's looking like a bloody tourist as you stumble through the Village streets, not knowing your spooky castles from your meat factories. Now, thanks to a leaked collector's edition map, you can plan your trip confidently with full knowledge of Capcom's gothic mountain town.

Warzone will carry on into this year's Call Of Duty
https://www.pcgamer.com/warzone-will-carry-on-into-this-years-call-of-duty/
Like the turning of the seasons, it doesn't take a fortune-teller to predict that there'll be a new Call Of Duty coming out of Activision this year.
There's not much more to tell than that right now, mind. In an earnings call this Thursday, however, the publisher did note that Call Of Duty: Warzone would continue through this year's entry, keeping the battle royale going for another year.

If two people land on a planet at the same time in Elite Odyssey... who gets the credit?
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-two-people-land-on-a-planet-at-the-same-time-in-elite-odyssey-who-gets-the-credit/
Odyssey is the next major expansion for Elite Dangerous. You can read my big interview with developer Frontier for the full details, but the most exciting new feature is being able to leave your ship for the first time and walk on the surface of alien worlds. And if you're the first person to land on a planet, your name will forever be etched in space history as the commander who discovered it.

Rust is adding a 'softcore' mode to make its opening hours less brutal
https://www.pcgamer.com/rust-is-adding-a-softcore-mode-to-make-its-opening-hours-less-brutal/
Dropped naked in the woods surrounded by murderous players, Rust is a bit of a hard game to get into. That won't change anytime soon, but to make the approach a little easier, Facepunch is introducing a "softcore" mode to make those early hours a bit more forgiving.

And now, let's check what's going on at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The first sale is the Weekly Sale, with up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210201_weekly_sale
• The Midweek Sale, filled with games from publisher Iceberg up to 80% off, will last another 22 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/iceberg_sale
• The Akupara Games Publisher Sale, with up to 80% discounts, will last another 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/akupara_sale
• Publisher Herocraft has its games up to 75% off until February 10: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210203_herocraft_sale
• The Weekend Sale is filled with retro games up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210205_weekend_sale
• And there's also a Special Sale with 11 bit Studios games up to 80% off during the weekend: https://www.gog.com/promo/11_bit_sale

+Steam

• The daily deal is the World of Warships — Exclusive Starter Pack, that is free until tomorrow: https://store.steampowered.com/app/844890/World_of_Warships__Exclusive_Starter_Pack/
• Stellaris is 75% off during the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/app/281990/Stellaris/
• Insurgency: Sandstorm is free to try for the next 3 days and 50% off until February 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandstorm/
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice gets a 35% discount until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/814380/Sekiro_Shadows_Die_Twice__GOTY_Edition/
• The games from publisher 2K Games are up to 75% off until February 18: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/2kpublishersale2021
• Muse Dash is 85% off until February 18: https://store.steampowered.com/app/774171/Muse_Dash/
• And of course, there's also the weeklong deals.

And with that, we've reached the end of the news. Until next time, have a happy and gaming weekend.