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

[JEMC]

Friday news, part two:

Battlefield 2042's scoreboard update has been delayed until March
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/battlefield-2042s-scoreboard-update-has-been-delayed-until-march/
It's more bad news for Battlefield 2042 fans, as Electronic Arts has announced that the 3.3 update, which includes the long-awaited new scoreboard, has been delayed a few weeks and won't be out until sometime in March.

Bungie reveals big changes to Destiny 2 weapon perks and an absurd buff to Exotic primaries
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bungie-reveals-big-changes-to-destiny-2-weapon-perks-and-an-absurd-buff-to-exotic-primaries/
This week's This Week at Bungie blog post is a monster—as is usually the case when the studio breaks down the major weapon changes coming with a new Destiny 2 expansion. There's plenty of ground covered, including an in-depth look at the new weapon crafting system, but there's also some major changes to the way guns work in Year 5.

Sony spent $1.2B to retain key Bungie talent as part of acquisition deal
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/sony-spent-dollar12b-to-retain-key-bungie-talent-as-part-of-acquisition-deal/
It's not uncommon for game company acquisitions, especially big ones, to result in layoffs. Fortunately for employees of Bungie, Sony's recent acquisition of the studio doesn't appear headed in that direction. A Washington Post report says Bungie leadership assured employees that there will be "absolutely no layoffs" and no "major" restructuring once the deal is finalized, and in fact roughly one-third of the $3.6 billion Sony spent on Bungie will go toward ensuring that employees stick around.
>> spynx has made a thread about this.

Double Fine head Tim Schafer says its next game won't be a sequel or adaptation
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/double-fine-head-tim-schafer-says-its-next-game-wont-be-a-sequel-or-adaptation/
Double Fine studio head Tim Schafer recently gave an interview to IGN's Ryan McCaffrey fresh on the heels of Psychonauts 2 winning Game of the Year and Schafer himself receiving the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at the 2022 New York Game Awards. In the interview, Schafer provided some insight into the course of his career, Double Fine and its relationship with Microsoft, and what's next for the studio.

Infinity Ward is the lead studio on this year's Call of Duty
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/infinity-ward-is-the-lead-studio-on-this-years-call-of-duty/
Activision Blizzard's usual quarterly investors call, scheduled for today, was cancelled because of the company's pending acquisition by Microsoft. That means we didn't learn as much about what the company has planned for the future as we usually do, but we did learn one thing: Infinity Ward is now officially the lead studio on the next Call of Duty game.
>> Nothing surprising as this was their turn, after Sledgehammer in and Treyarch.

Warzone devs revert unpopular change, streamer gets Raven logo tattooed on his butt
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/warzone-devs-revert-unpopular-change-streamer-gets-raven-logo-tattooed-on-his-butt/
(...)
It started when Raven Software implemented a controversial change to the way Loadout Drops are acquired in Warzone. Purchased at Buying Stations, these items let you access a custom loadout for the price of $10,000 in-game cash, and have always been available right at the beginning of the match. But after the change, these Loadout Drops were only available to purchase later in a match, forcing players to cope with what they could find scattered around the map.

Looks like the next Baldur's Gate 3 update is coming this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/looks-like-the-next-baldurs-gate-3-update-is-coming-this-month/
A recent note from Larian Studios on Chinese social media site Bilibili, spotted and translated on Reddit, announced that Baldur's Gate 3 "will have a new update in February and more surprises waiting for you guys to discover."

If Dying Light 2 is crashing when you start a new game, here's a fix
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/if-dying-light-2-is-crashing-when-you-start-a-new-game-heres-a-fix/
Zombie parkour first-person-kicker Dying Light 2 launched today, complete with a day one patch that included more than 1,000 fixes. These things never do run smooth. Even with the patch, some players have found that clicking on New Game causes an immediate crash to desktop—which is less than ideal, to put it mildly.

Microsoft's Phil Spencer gets a lifetime achievement award, to be presented by Microsoft's Todd Howard
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/microsofts-phil-spencer-gets-a-lifetime-achievement-award-to-be-presented-by-microsofts-todd-howard/
Phil Spencer has had quite the start to 2022 and, in the aftermath of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, is recieving one of the gaming industry's biggest gongs: A Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the 25th Annual DICE Awards by Todd Howard, director and producer at Bethesda which, of course, is a fully owned Microsoft subsidiary and one of big Phil's previous acquisitions.

It's finally official: Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/its-finally-official-grand-theft-auto-6-is-coming/
We knew it was happening—I mean, obviously it was happening—but now it's official: Rockstar has confirmed that a new Grand Theft Auto is coming.
"With the unprecedented longevity of GTAV, we know many of you have been asking us about a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series," the studio said in the latest Grand Theft Auto community update.
>> Ryuu96 has made a thread about this announcement.

With the Lunar New Year Sales over, here are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend::

+GOG

• The Weekly Sale comes with puzzle and adventure games up to 75% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220131_weekly_sale
• And there's also a new Special Sale featuring games from Meta Publishing with up to 85% discounts during the next 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/meta_publishing_sale
• The Midweek Sale, with its up to 85% discounts, will last another 22 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220202_midweek_sale
• The first of the three flash deals is Frostpunk: Game of the Year Edition, 67% off during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/frostpunk_game_of_the_year_edition
• If you already have Frostpunk, then you'll be pleased to know that the second flash deal is the Frostpunk: Season Pass, 60% off during the same duration: https://www.gog.com/en/game/frostpunk_season_pass
• The last flash deal is Infested Planet, 87% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/infested_planet
• And then there's also the Weekend Sale, featuring Strategy titles up to 75% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220204_weekend_sale

+Steam

• The daily deal is Session: Skateboarding Sim Game, still in Early Access, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/861650/Session_Skateboarding_Sim_Game/
• The first Weekend Deal is After the Fall - Launch Edition, 20% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/751630/After_the_Fall__Launch_Edition/
• Valheim, that's still in Early Access, gets a 25% discount until February 7: https://store.steampowered.com/app/892970/Valheim/
• The Games from Quebec Sale features up to 85% discounts until Monday 7: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/quebec
• The Sims 4 is free to try during the weekend and also 88% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1222670/The_Sims_4/
• Wales Interactive puts its games, mostly interactive movies, on sale, up to 90% off until February 10: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/walesinteractive/
• And of course, there's also the weeklong deals, even if there aren't a lot of them.

And that it. Until next time, I hope you have a happy and gaming weekend.