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

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The news, part two:

Microsoft pledges annual harassment report after audit sparked by complaints and Bill Gates allegations
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-pledges-annual-harassment-report-after-audit-sparked-by-complaints-and-bill-gates-allegations/
Microsoft is promising a suite of adjustments to its sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies following the conclusion of a third party investigation. ArentFox Schiff LLP—a law firm—was contracted by Microsoft to review the company's policies regarding harassment and discrimination after a shareholder vote in November last year, triggered in part by the allegations against (and subsequent investigation of) Bill Gates in 2019.
>> Without knowing how many of those complains were in the gaming part of the company, this report may seem a bit useless, until you realize that they could force the same policies to Activision-Blizzard if the deal is approved.

Modern Warfare 2 competitive mode delayed hours before release
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2-competitive-mode-delayed-hours-before-release/
Modern Warfare 2's first season launches today. It was supposed to mark the arrival of both the hardcore Tier 1 mode and 4v4 ranked mode CDL Moshpit but unfortunately, the latter will take a little longer to arrive.

Bethesda rejects Mick Gordon allegations as 'distortion of the truth'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-rejects-mick-gordon-allegations-as-distortion-of-the-truth/
Bethesda Softworks has responded to allegations made last week by Doom Eternal composer Mick Gordon, saying that Gordon "mischaracterized and misrepresented" the situation "with a one-sided and unjust account of the facts of the case."

RimWorld modders are making their own colony sim with real-time tactics combat
https://www.pcgamer.com/rimworld-modders-are-making-their-own-colony-sim-with-real-time-tactics-combat/
The makers of the popular RimWorld mod Combat Extended have formed a studio, Vivid Storm Interactive, and have been hard at work making their own game. Ascent of Ashes is a colony sim set on an alien planet where you can build a base, grow crops, tame alien creatures, explore a procedurally generated post-apocalyptic landscape, and salvage technology to beef up your defenses.

WoW: Dragonflight's Dracthyr are more evidence that RPG players just want to make characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/wow-dragonflights-dracthyr-are-more-evidence-that-rpg-players-just-want-to-make-characters/
For as long as World of Warcraft has existed, players have been asking Blizzard for the opportunity to play as dragons, bipedal or otherwise. There are still forum posts and interviews as old as 2009 with discussions about how to get playable dragons into the game

Rainbow Six Siege's secret new anti-cheat tactic is causing a stir
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-sieges-secret-new-anti-cheat-tactic-is-causing-a-stir/
A rumor about the secret workings of Ubisoft's latest Rainbow Six Siege anti-cheat system has begun to give the new tactic a heroic aura on the internet. The claim going around on Twitter is that Ubisoft is doing something deviously simple: updating the Rainbow Six Siege executable every two hours, forcing cheat makers to keep up with an endless treadmill of cheat-breaking changes.
There are reasons to doubt the specifics of that explanation, but one anti-cheat expert tells PC Gamer that it actually is a viable anti-cheat method. And even if Siege isn't actually being reborn every two hours, something similar may be happening.

Most of Blizzard's games won't be available in China as of next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/most-of-blizzards-games-wont-be-available-in-china-as-of-next-year/
Since 2008, Blizzard's games have been published in mainland China via licensing agreements with NetEase. Those licensing agreements are set to end on January 23, 2023, and won't be renewed, Blizzard has announced. Game services for World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Diablo 3, the StarCraft series, and Heroes of the Storm will be ending in China on the same date.

Saints Row developer is being shifted to Gearbox following tepid launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/saints-row-developer-is-being-shifted-to-gearbox-following-tepid-launch/
After a lukewarm reception to the Saints Row reboot, Embracer Group has announced that it'll be plucking Volition from Plaion (formerly Koch Media) and handing it to Gearbox instead.
>> The official explanation is that, since both are based in the US, it makes sense to "give" Volition to Gearbox.

Chinese state media changes its mind, suggests videogames are good actually
https://www.pcgamer.com/chinese-state-media-changes-its-mind-suggests-videogames-are-good-actually/
It must be a wild ride working in the Chinese games industry. One minute you're riding high, the next your colossal firm is suddenly less valuable than a liquor company. The Chinese government's tech crackdown, and its long standing suspicion of videogames as a medium, makes China's domestic games market a notoriously choppy one to navigate, even though companies like Tencent and NetEase are major international players.
No wonder, then, that Chinese games companies are cautiously welcoming a recent editorial in the state-run People's Daily newspaper, arguing that, just maybe, this whole 'videogames' thing might have some value to it after all. Spotted by Reuters tech correspondent Josh Ye (via The Gamer), an article titled "Deeply exploring the value of electronic games industry is an opportunity we can't miss" has called for China to dedicate more attention to developing its games industry, potentially signalling a sea-change in the government's hostile attitude. Chinese gaming stocks rose significantly on the news.