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

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Monday news, part two:

Blizzard isn't planning any immediate hero buffs or nerfs for Overwatch 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-isnt-planning-any-immediate-hero-buffs-or-nerfs-for-overwatch-2/
So Overwatch 2 is out and, sort of, running. The game has been plagued by a variety of launch issues from server queues to broken hero abilities, but for the most part players are now getting stuck into matches and experimenting with the new meta. And although there may be some that think one or two heroes are broken (overpowered) or broken (terrible) Blizzard hasn't got any plans to rework or rebalance any heroes just yet.

If you've been ranked too low in Overwatch 2, it might not be your fault
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-youve-been-ranked-too-low-in-overwatch-2-it-might-not-be-your-fault/
Blizzard has released a big ol' blog post to look back on the first week of Overwatch 2, along with addressing some feedback and issues. First of all, despite the calls for buffs and nerfs, Blizzard says none of the heroes are seriously out pacing the others, as they all have a pretty similar win rate. And rather hilariously, if you've been placed in competitive in a lower rank than you think you deserve, it might not be your fault.

This new Vampire Survivors mode is going to be the end of me
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-vampire-survivors-mode-is-going-to-be-the-end-of-me/
I've become besotted with Vampire Survivors since I bought it to play on my Steam Deck, but I'm now convinced developer Poncle wants to kill me. It's leaving early access next week, on October 20, and the launch version will include the previously announced Endless mode and the just unveiled Inverse mode. It's the latter that will surely spell my death.

Mount & Blade 2 finally gets Steam Workshop support ahead of full release
https://www.pcgamer.com/mount-and-blade-2-finally-gets-steam-workshop-support-ahead-of-full-release/
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord will finally leave early access on October 25, but before it does, developer TaleWorlds Entertainment has been rolling out a few patches and hotfixes to prep for the big day. The latest adds Steam Workshop support to the sometimes-buggy, always-brilliant medieval mercenary simulator.

Build and defend a base on an alien world in this surprisingly deep survival sim
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-sci-fi-base-building-survival-game-is-perfect-for-extreme-micromanagers/
Is it weird to say I absolutely loved the tutorial for early access colony survival game Stranded: Alien Dawn? As in, I enjoyed the tutorial so much I might actually play it again from start to finish before starting a proper game? No joke. It's that good.

Guild Wars 2's next NPC is a real 10-year-old child
https://www.pcgamer.com/guild-wars-2s-next-npc-is-a-real-10-year-old-child/
The ArenaNet MMO Guild Wars 2 is getting a new NPC in November drawn from the ranks of real life: April Arellano, a Children's Miracle Network Champion child, who's being added to the game as part of the studio's Extra Life Game Day event.

CD Projekt's big roadmap doesn't indicate an impending acquisition, says analyst
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekts-big-roadmap-doesnt-indicate-an-impending-acquisition-says-analyst/
Cyberpunk 2077 was no flop, but it certainly disrupted CD Projekt's forward momentum, causing it to postpone Cyberpunk DLC in favor of fixes, and hurting its share price. But the past year of Cyberpunk launch atonement is not part of a long-term scaling back, we learned last week. If anything, CD Projekt's ambition has multiplied: The company says it's going to make a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, release three new Witcher RPGs over the course of just six years, make a new game set in a new world, and more.
(...)
It feels like anything is possible with all the game studio shopping big companies like Microsoft have been doing, but industry analyst Rhys Elliott, who works for gaming research firm Newzoo, doesn't think CD Projekt's bold roadmap justifies any immediate conclusions about its current or future ownership.

Mojang announces Minecraft 1.20, with first beta coming 'a few days from now'
https://www.pcgamer.com/mojang-announces-minecraft-120-with-first-beta-coming-a-few-days-from-now/
At the 2022 Minecraft Live event, Mojang revealed some key details about the upcoming 1.20 update for the long-lived survival game, as well as its planned release window in the spring of 2023. Mojang also announced that the update's first playable features and snapshots would be accessible "a few days from now," and revealed the winner of its 2022 mob vote: The noble and honorable Sniffer.

Minecraft Legends shows off its 4 player co-op in new gameplay video
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-legends-shows-off-its-4-player-co-op-in-new-gameplay-video/
Today's Minecraft Live saw a lot of neat detail emerge around Minecraft Legends, the real time, third-person strategic spinoff of Mojang's ever-popular blocky world. We learned that Minecraft Legends will launch in the Spring of 2023, and got two cinematic trailers and a long string of four-person gameplay as a team attacks a piglin base.

Gotham Knights will get a cooperative mode for four players after launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/gotham-knights-will-get-a-cooperative-mode-for-four-players-after-launch/
Though it's just one of many, many October releases, Gotham Knights holds a special place in our attention because it's not just a successor to the Batman Arkham series, but because it's a cooperative successor that plays with two. So... it's actually pretty exciting to hear that it'll get a free update with a four-player co-op mode at the end of November.

Bayonetta voice actress urges players to boycott next game, citing insulting treatment by developer Platinum
https://www.pcgamer.com/bayonetta-voice-actress-urges-players-to-boycott-next-game-citing-insulting-treatment-by-developer-platinum/
Hellena Taylor, the original voice actress of Bayonetta, released a sequence of videos on Twitter explaining why she did not return to the role. Taylor claims that she was offered a flat sum of $4,000 to voice the character in the upcoming Bayonetta 3, and on refusing this offer, was replaced by Jennifer Hale of Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic fame. Taylor urged players to boycott the game, compared her situation to that of other underpaid workers, and urged Bayonetta fans to donate money they would have spent on the game to charity.
(...)
Hideki Kamiya, one of the creators of Bayonetta and a founding member of Platinum Games, responded with the message, "Sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth. That's all I can tell now." Kamiya went on to caution readers to beware his rules⁠—a reference to his combative social media presence and propensity to block people who argue with him. Since the original publication of this story, Hideki Kamiya seems to have deleted his Twitter account.
>> CaptainExplosion made a thread about it during the weekend.