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

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Thursday news, part two:

After Bobby Kotick tries to scare them off, UK regulators say they'll oppose Activision Blizzard deal
https://www.pcgamer.com/as-bobby-kotick-tries-to-scare-them-off-uk-regulators-say-lets-take-a-closer-look-at-microsofts-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard/
Yesterday Bobby Kotick gave a pair of interviews to CNBC and The Financial Times, during which Activision Blizzard's longtime CEO was typically bullish about Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of the publisher. Kotick pointed at comments from UK prime minister Rishi Sunak about the UK becoming "the Silicon Valley of Europe," and warned that "if deals like this can’t get through, [the UK's] not going to be Silicon Valley, [it'll] be Death Valley". Then he said the UK's regulator "lacked independent thought".
Well, that's nice. In a piece of perfect timing, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today issued its findings after a preliminary investigation of the deal, and it looks likely to recommend further scrutiny. Its biggest issues are that it reckons the merger would make Microsoft big enough in cloud gaming that it would stifle competition, harm consumers by weakening the rivalry between PlayStation and Xbox, and potentially "result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers."
>> Not only that, they also say that Activision Blizzard should be broken up.

Design your dream gaming setup from the discomfort of your actual gaming setup
https://www.pcgamer.com/design-your-dream-gaming-setup-from-the-discomfort-of-your-actual-gaming-setup/
I don't know about your personal gaming setup, but mine leaves a lot to be desired. My unnecessarily large PC is crammed under my tiny desk meaning I occasionally bang my knee on the corner of the case. My two ancient monitors don't quite fit together so they're at different heights and one has to be turned to a less than ideal angle. I have a shelf within reach but instead of it holding a pleasing selection of paperback books and colorful figurines it's jammed with unopened mail, an angry snarl of charging cables, and a coffee mug I keep forgetting to bring back to the kitchen.
Cozy it ain't, but with My Dream Setup at least I can sit at my cluttered, uncomfortable desk and design the gaming lair I've always wanted.

Forspoken studio promises PC performance improvements are on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/forspoken-studio-promises-pc-performance-improvements-are-on-the-way/
Forspoken developer Luminous Productions says it is working on a patch that will make meaningful improvements to the game's performance and stability on PC and PlayStation 5. The message comes just one day after the release of the 1.03 patch that was criticized by many players for its lack of significant changes.

Destiny 2 reveals bold plan to stop lethally physics-slamming players into walls
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-reveals-plan-to-stop-slamming-you-into-a-wall-and-insta-killing-you-for-literally-no-good-reason/
Honestly, if I had a dollar for every time I've been launched into a hard surface and atomised in Destiny 2 I'd probably have enough money to buy Bungie. Or at least the boss design department. (...)
Soon, that frustration may be no more. As part of a now daily fusillade of new info (check out my interview with the developers), Bungie just announced that deaths from physics should be a thing of the past when the next expansion launches on February 28.

That Tron visual novel has a release window, a new trailer, and lots of choices to make
https://www.pcgamer.com/that-tron-visual-novel-has-a-release-window-a-new-trailer-and-lots-of-choices-to-make/
Button up your neon pyjamas, because Tron: Identity has a release window and a new gameplay trailer. Revealed at yesterday's Nintendo Direct, the "narrative puzzle adventure" from Thomas Was Alone and Subsurface Circular creator Mike Bithell will come out sometime in April this year, inviting you to crack open a mystery "In a new Grid, forgotten by its creator and left alone to evolve without User intervention".

Inject Dead Cells' Castlevania DLC straight into my veins please
https://www.pcgamer.com/inject-dead-cells-castlevania-dlc-straight-into-my-veins-please/
Castlevania is in a very weird place right now. (...)
There are games like Vampire Survivors that wear their love for Castlevania on both sleeves, where the lineage is clear even if it's not an official product, and then there's what's happening with the superb Dead Cells. Motion Twin's action-roguelike was similarly inspired by Castlevania in its elements, and such has been its success that (as first announced late last year) it's getting a major piece of DLC called Return to Castlevania.
The developers have now released a new trailer showcasing the DLC, and announced it will release March 6.

The original Life Is Strange devs are making a beautifully animated, choice-driven narrative game next
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-original-life-is-strange-devs-are-making-a-beautifully-animated-choice-driven-narrative-game-next/
Life Is Strange developer Don't Nod has a new game, and it looks like we're trading in teen drama for a tale of megacorps, gods, and the precarious balance between the mortal and divine worlds. So pretty much the same thing. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie was revealed during yesterday's Nintendo Direct, and hits Steam in June this year.

Ubisoft teams up with UK police to tackle 'the most extreme cases' of online harassment and threats
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-teams-up-with-uk-police-to-tackle-the-most-extreme-cases-of-online-harassment-and-threats/
As the games industry becomes ever-larger, and players become more connected, the problem of toxic behaviour has moved from a background concern to a major issue for developers, publishers and, in extreme cases, the authorities. Now, in a move that will be welcomed by many, publisher Ubisoft has announced it's signed an agreement with the UK police (thanks, BBC) that will see the worst cases of online harassment and threats fast-tracked to the force.

A bunch of classic Nintendo DS JRPGs are headed for PC, but it'll cost ya
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-bunch-of-classic-nintendo-ds-jrpgs-are-headed-for-pc-but-itll-cost-ya/
Permit me one moment to complain, readers. Over ten years ago, I buckled and bought a CD copy of Knights of the Old Republic 2, since it clearly wasn't coming to Steam. It came to Steam a few months later. At some point I did the same with Planescape: Torment, just before it released on GOG. Literally last month I bought the first few Etrian Odyssey games for my indomitable 3DS before Nintendo could close the eshop, and hey, guess what? Etrian Odyssey 1, 2, and 3 are headed to PC in a newly remastered form on June 1. I am the plaything of fickle gods.