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

[JEMC]

The news, the end of this ridiculous trilogy:

Halo creative lead Joseph Staten leaves Microsoft 3 months after heavy layoffs at 343 Industries
https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-creative-lead-joseph-staten-leaves-microsoft-3-months-after-heavy-layoffs-at-343-industries/
Joseph Staten, the head of creative on Halo Infinite and a former longtime writer at Bungie, is leaving Microsoft, the company confirmed to IGN. Staten left Bungie during the troubled development of Destiny and joined Microsoft in early 2014, helping Xbox Game Studios publish a variety of games. In 2020, after Halo Infinite's infamous first showing and year-long delay, Staten joined 343 Industries to see the project to completion.

No Alice sequel, says EA
https://www.pcgamer.com/no-alice-sequel-says-ea/
An update on American McGee's Alice: Asylum Patreon project has revealed that EA won't be taking on a sequel to the 2000 and 2011 Alice series, which creator McGee has been trying to get made for something like six years now. McGee says EA is neither interested in funding the project itself nor licensing the Alice IP to McGee.

This immersive sim will be set in a gas station that might also be hell
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-immersive-sim-will-be-set-in-a-gas-station-that-might-also-be-hell/
"Stranded alone at a gas station in the middle of the desert. Dark Rituals. Demonic Pursuers. No escape," that's the short pitch for Ad Infernum, an in-development immersive sim from Glass Knuckle Games that's rich with strange, occult objects and a kind of horror influence that hasn't yet really taken root in the broader immersive sim genre.

Tekken 8 will have crossplay, a series first
https://www.pcgamer.com/tekken-8-will-have-cross-play-a-series-first/
"Of course" Tekken 8 will have crossplay, says game director Katsuhiro Harada, allowing players on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC to play alongside each other in a multiplayer mode that'll also include fighting games' much-favored system of rollback netcode. Harada made the reveal in response to a fan on Twitter.

Get ready for a culinary throwdown when Cook Serve Forever launches in May
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-ready-for-a-culinary-throwdown-when-cook-serve-forever-launches-in-may/
Supercharged cooking game Cook Serve Forever will hit early access on May 8, news accompanied by a new trailer looking at the next cooking adventure from development studio Vertigo Gaming Inc. The trailer explains the all-new characters and setup for the game, which is similar to but not a sequel to the prior Cook Serve releases.

After complaints about 'free' Ark: Survival Evolved upgrade being sold in a $50 bundle with Ark 2, now it'll be in a DLC bundle for $60
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-complaints-about-free-ark-survival-evolved-upgrade-being-sold-in-a-dollar50-bundle-with-ark-2-now-itll-be-in-a-dlc-bundle-for-dollar60/
Studio Wildcard, creators of poop-harvesting dinosaur trainer Ark: Survival Evolved, has responded to players who were upset the Ark: Survival Evolved upgrade turned out not to be free. After raising the ire of those players by announcing it was going to release the Unreal Engine 5 remaster in a $50 bundle with Ark 2 and then sell remastered DLC for it separately, the studio now says it has "digested the feedback and consulted with our partners to revise our upcoming plans."
In a community update, Studio Wildcard describes those plans: it will instead release Ark: Survival Evolved as a standalone package that will contain several DLC upgrades at launch, and receive more without additional cost (including community-created maps) when they become ready. Also, it'll be priced at $60. Now I'm no mathematician, but that sure does seem to be $10 more.
>> I fail to see how that will please the community, but that's their problem.

This gleefully silly FPS takes inspiration from one of Titanfall 2's best levels
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-gleefully-silly-fps-takes-inspiration-from-one-of-titanfall-2s-best-levels/
Remember that amazing mission in Titanfall 2? No, I'm not talking about Effect and Cause, or the one where you battle along a giant, constantly moving assembly line (man, that game is brilliant). I'm referring to Trial by Fire, where you and BT-7274 must fight your way across a convoy of airborne transport vessels, leaping from ship to ship as you gradually work your way to the front. Anyway, there's a rapidly approaching FPS which takes that idea and uses it as the basis for a whole game.

Dead by Daylight kills its new healing system after blowback from players
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-by-daylight-kills-its-new-healing-system-after-blowback-from-players/
Multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight has been experimenting with a new healing system lately, whereby health regeneration was slowed from 16 to 24 seconds. That experiment has proved about as popular as having a meathook shoved through your chest, however, and after receiving substantial negative feedback, developer Behaviour Interactive has reverted to the original system.

Let's Build a Zoo will soon let you build an aquarium, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/lets-build-a-zoo-will-soon-let-you-build-an-aquarium-too/
Let's Build a Zoo, the zoo management sim that lets players cross-breed new animal species, has announced its second expansion. Named Aquarium Odyssey, this slippery slice of DLC will let players build and manage their own aquatic enclosures, filling tanks with all manner of weird and wonderful sea life.

QuakeCon will return in-person for 2023, but with some big changes
https://www.pcgamer.com/quakecon-will-return-in-person-for-2023-but-with-some-big-changes/
After three years of being online-only because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bethesda Softworks has announced that QuakeCon will return to in-person action in 2023.

Riot will let you pay to turn your Valorant guns into Counter-Strike guns
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-will-let-you-pay-to-turn-your-valorant-guns-into-counter-strike-guns/
Valorant's next cosmetic bundle is looking eerily familiar. The Black Market pack, arriving on April 12, is an unsubtle homage to Counter-Strike conveniently timed with Valve's recent announcement of Counter-Strike 2.

ZeniMax promises 'a proper resolution' after using Elder Scrolls Online fanart in a paid skin without permission
https://www.pcgamer.com/zenimax-promises-a-proper-resolution-after-using-elder-scrolls-online-fanart-in-a-paid-skin-without-permission/
ZeniMax Online Studios says it is working toward a "proper resolution" for an Elder Scrolls Online fan named Relan Daevath after Daevath's artwork was used, without attribution or permission, in the Mercymother's Body Art skin in the game's Crown Store.

One-shot sniper rifles are returning to Warzone this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-shot-sniper-rifles-are-returning-to-warzone-this-week/
Season 3 begins on Wednesday in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, and as Morgan observed last week, it might be the first big update that pleases players of both games. One change to Warzone 2 might be mildly controversial, though: one-hit sniping is back.

Crounus cheaters are getting sniped across the biggest FPS games
https://www.pcgamer.com/crounus-cheaters-are-getting-sniped-across-the-biggest-fps-games/
If you're into online FPS games, you'll likely have heard of Cronus. The Cronus Zen is one of many little hardware modules that have been giving cheaters a physical way to skirt anticheat software for years, in top games like Call of Duty and Destiny 2. Now big-name game developers are cracking down on their use, with Activision pushing out a ban. And it looks like Bungie could be soon to follow.
>> Good news!

Portal writer Erik Wolpaw still wants to make Portal 3, but Valve's 'flat structure' makes it a challenge
https://www.pcgamer.com/portal-writer-erik-wolpaw-still-wants-to-make-portal-3-but-valves-flat-structure-makes-it-a-challenge/
Valve's allergy to the number three continues. While the desire for a third Portal game might not be quite as powerful as the hunger for Half-Life 3 (or even just Episode 3), the mind-bending puzzle series continues to have plenty of fans eager to see it continue, including Portal writer Erik Wolpaw. Unfortunately, the likelihood of another sequel remains hard to gauge.

Resident Evil 4 actor strikes back at critics: 'not the first time an actor of colour faces racist and sexist harassment, for simply participating'
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-4-actor-strikes-back-at-critics-not-the-first-time-an-actor-of-colour-faces-racist-and-sexist-harassment-for-simply-participating/
Lily Gao, the Ada Wong voice actor who wiped her Instagram after continued harassment last week, has returned to the platform. In a post spotted by TheGamer, Gao hit back at abusive critics, writing that "while criticism is expected, it's not the first time an actor of colour faces racist and sexist harassment, for simply participating."
>> Some people, haters, will always find something to complain about. It's better to ignore them... or make fun of them..