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

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Friday news, part two:

Summer Game Fest is coming on June 9
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/summer-game-fest-2022-date/
We knew it was happening, and now we know when. Videogame hype man extraordinaire Geoff Keighley announced today that the Summer Game Fest will return on June 9—and this time, you can even watch it in IMAX.
>> That's barely one month away.

Margit's Shackle in Elden Ring has a strange second purpose
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/margits-shackle-in-elden-ring-has-a-strange-second-purpose/
If you've been playing Elden Ring like most of the gaming world, you've probably said hello to the first pain-in-your-ass boss, Margit the Fell Omen. He's very early on in the game, and we've even had to create a guide to stop people barrelling towards him underleveled. Even though he is pretty tough, there is one very helpful item that can help you beat him: Margit's Shackle.

A new Mafia game is reportedly in development under new studio leadership
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-new-mafia-game-is-reportedly-in-development-under-new-studio-leadership/
2K Games confirmed today that Haden Blackman, the longtime president and chief creative officer of Mafia studio Hangar 13, is leaving the company. Word of Blackman's departure comes alongside a Kotaku report saying that a new Mafia game is now in the early stages of development.

Path of Exile's new expansion lets you build your own bite-sized hard mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/path-of-exiles-new-expansion-lets-you-build-your-own-bite-sized-hard-mode/
Path of Exile, more than any action-RPG I’ve played, wants you to set the terms of your own suffering. With a hugely customizable endgame and quarterly events like a double-or-nothing gamblers arena, there’s a major focus on choosing how you challenge yourself in exchange for loot. This May’s upcoming expansion, Sentinel, brings what looks like a more direct new way to challenge yourself: a satchel full of consumable drones that empower your enemies while injecting them full of bonus items.

The Naga are coming to Hearthstone Battlegrounds on May 10
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-naga-are-coming-to-hearthstone-battlegrounds-on-may-10/
The first-ever Hearthstone Battlegrounds season, Rise of the Naga, will get underway on May 10 with a reset of player ratings, a new hero, and an all-new minion type: The naga, a magic-focused race that will grant spells or become more powerful when spells are played around them (and also, not coincidentally, are the focus of the current Voyage to the Sunken CIty expansion).

Overwatch 2 patch gives Zenyatta a badass round-house kick
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/overwatch-2-patch-gives-zenyatta-a-badass-round-house-kick/
Overwatch 2 is in its beta stages. Blizzard was obviously keen to get players in on what it's developed so far for the PvP portion of the game, but it's been far from balanced. The game is basically in freefall at this point, with the Overwatch team trying to rework and reimagine character abilities, damage, and more as quickly as possible. So after acknowledging that Overwatch's support heroes were a bit lacklustre, Blizzard have updated the game with a bunch of new changes once again, including a super kick for Zenyatta.

Outriders hasn't made a profit, and may never
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/outriders-hasnt-made-a-profit-and-may-never/
Outriders was released in April 2021, heralded by developer People Can Fly and publisher Square Enix as the future of the looter-shooter—and while we found it a bit of an inconsistent experience, the early signs were of a positive commercial response. Square Enix boasted of 3.5 million players the month after launch, calling it "the company's next major franchise."
Then things went a bit quiet. By August, developer People Can Fly was grumbling about being left in the dark by Square Enix about how the game was doing. And now, the lid's come off and it looks like: not very well.

Halo Infinite's Season 2 launch has been 'bumpy' admits creative lead
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinites-season-2-launch-has-been-bumpy-admits-creative-lead/
Launching a live service game can't be easy. It's hard to remember any games-as-service launch where everything went as planned but normally, as the game updates and time goes by, things get more stable. Unfortunately the release of the second season of Halo Infinite hasn't been all that smooth either.

EVE x Microsoft Excel is probably the least surprising collaboration in history
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/eve-x-microsoft-excel-is-probably-the-least-surprising-collaboration-in-history/
Even if you've lived under a proverbial rock and only heard of EVE Online through whispers in the wind, you'll have probably heard it described as spreadsheets in space. That description's about to become a whole lot more apt, with CCP Games today announcing the least surprising brand collaboration this side of Fortnite.
During the FanFest 2022 keynote, the developer announced that it's leaning fully into being spreadsheets in space by working with Microsoft to create an official Excel API for EVE Online players. While only a prototype right now, the tool lets EVE players import all sorts of market data and outfitting stats into the program.

And here are the GOG and Steam deals:

+GOG

• And the new Weekly Sale comes with up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220502_weekly_sale
• The Midweek Sale features short games with up to 90% discounts during 2 more days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220504_midweek_sale
• The Good Old Games Week Sale, with up to 90% discounts, is going to be around until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/good-old-games
• The first flash deal is Edge Of Eternity, 50% off during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/edge_of_eternity
• The second flash deal is S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, 70% off during the same time: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stalker_shadow_of_chernobyl
• The third, and last, flash deal is F.E.A.R. Platinum, with a 85% discount until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/fear_platinum
• The Weekend Sale features post-apocalyptic games up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220506_weekend_sale
• Three new Worms games launch on the store and will be 70% off until May 13. Other games in the series are also on sale. Read more here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/welcome_3_games_from_the_worms_series_on_gog
• And Focus Home Interactive puts its games up to 80% off during the next 9 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/202205_focus_entertainment

+Steam

• Despite the deals already discussed in the news, there are several new deals at Steam, including a new daily deal: SD GUNDAM G GENERATION CROSS RAYS, 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/728530/SD_GUNDAM_G_GENERATION_CROSS_RAYS/
• NIS America celebrates the Golden Week with up to 80% discounts until Sunday, May 8: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/nisa/sale/nisagoldenweeksale
• Bandai Namco also celebrates the Golden Week with up to 80% discounts, but until May 9: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/BANDAINAMCO/sale/bandainamcosale
• The LudoNarraCon comes with up to 90% discounts. The length of t he discounts vary from game to game, with some ending the 9th and others lasting beyond that. Check them out here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ludonarracon
• Raw Fury brings a surprise Spring Sale featuring up to 90% discounts until the 10th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/springsurprisesale
• WINGSPAN will be 50% off until May 12: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054490/WINGSPAN/
• XSEED Games puts its titles up to 75% off until the 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/xseedpublishersale2022
• Car Mechanic Simulator 2021, that has a demo, will be 20% off until May 18: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1190000/Car_Mechanic_Simulator_2021/
• And of course, there's also the weeklong deals.

Nothing left to add. Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.