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

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Yay! We've reached the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Mortal Shell has sold 500K copies worldwide
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mortal-shell-has-sold-500k-copies-worldwide/
Playstack and Cold Symmetry have just announced that their Souls-like game, Mortal Shell, has sold 500K copies on all platforms worldwide.
Mortal Shell is a deep action-RPG that promises to test your sanity and resilience in a shattered world.

Wargame: Red Dragon is free to own on Epic Games Store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/wargamer-red-dragon-is-free-to-own-on-epic-games-store/
Eugen Systems and Epic Games have announced that Wargame: Red Dragon is free to own on Epic Games Store for a limited time. From today and until March 11th, PC gamers can visit its EGS page and acquire their free copy.
>> And next week, the free game will be "Surviving Mars".

The Humble Store has three new sales:

• The Raw Fury publisher Sale brings up to 80% discounts during the next 3 days. The keys are mostly for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/raw-fury-publisher-sale/
• The Age of Empires franchise Sale, featuring the three Definitive Edition games, comes with up to 50% discounts during the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/age-of-empires-franchise-sale-/
• And Frontier has its games up to 75% off during the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/frontier-publisher-sale/

Fanatical's Spring Sale is still going on, and these are today's Flash Deals:

• Distant Worlds: Universe is 90% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/distant-worlds-universe
• Project CARS - Game Of The Year Edition gets a 92% discount for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/project-cars-game-of-the-year-edition
• And The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is 66% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-4

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Nvidia releases a GPU hotfix to address screen flickering and Fortnite stuttering
https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-releases-a-gpu-hotfix-to-address-screen-flickering-and-fortnite-stuttering/
Nvidia has released a GPU hotfix driver that you won't see in GeForce Experience, but is of interest to anyone affected by the handful of issues it addresses, such as intermittent stuttering in Fortnite and random screen flickering.
The hotfix driver (version 461.81) is based on the 461.72 'Game Ready' driver that came out last week, which itself was a launch driver for the newly minted GeForce RTX 3060. It is an optional release, meaning you have to hunt it down and manually apply it. Or you can sit back and wait—all seven fixes will be included in the next regular driver update, whenever that materializes.
>> Available from here.

48 million players use controllers on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/48-million-players-use-controllers-on-steam/
In a recent developer announcement about Steamworks tools, Valve gave some insight into the number of players using controllers on Steam, which is higher than ever and rising. "48 million players have used a controller in a game on Steam," writes Valve, with about 10 percent of daily game sessions being played with a controller."
Naturally these figures vary wildly across genre: for RTS games that figure is "frequently below 1 percent" whereas "many sports and fighting games see over 70 percent of sessions played with a controller, while racing and skating games can easily have over 90 percent of players using a controller." Third-person action games, your Assassin's Creeds and so on, fluctuate between 40-50 percent of players using controllers, while for FPSs it's "solidly in the range of 7-8 percent."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

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GAMING NEWS

Here are 25 minutes of gameplay footage from Aliens: Fireteam
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-25-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-aliens-fireteam/
A couple of days ago, Cold Iron Studios revealed a new Aliens co-op third-person survival shooter, Aliens: Fireteam. And today, IGN has shared a video, showcasing 25 minutes of gameplay footage from it.

Valve has cancelled Artifact 2.0, Artifact Classic goes free to play
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/valve-has-cancelled-artifact-2-0-artifact-classic-goes-free-to-play/
Valve has announced the cancellation of Artifact 2.0. Moreover, the team has announced that Artifact Classic is now free to play, meaning that everyone will be able to play it.
>> First Anthem and now this. If they don't get the game right at launch, don't hope for a magical solution later on.

Turn-based strategy RPG, Black Legend, releases on March 25th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/turn-based-strategy-rpg-black-legend-releases-on-march-25th/
Warcave has announced that its turn-based strategy RPG, Black Legend, will release on Steam on March 25th. In addition, the team released a brand new trailer that you can find below.

EA states that it will never use Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in FIFA, Madden or NHL
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ea-states-that-it-will-never-use-dynamic-difficulty-adjustment-in-fifa-madden-or-nhl/
Electronic Arts has issued an official statement about its Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment. According to the publisher, while it does own a patent for DDA tech, it will never use it in FIFA, Madden or NHL.
>> Do we believe them?