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

[JEMC]

The long sequel to the Thursday news:

New World and Lost Ark players aren't happy as Amazon closes forums in favor of Discord
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-world-and-lost-ark-players-arent-happy-as-amazon-closes-forums-in-favor-of-discord/
Remember when we asked everyone to please stop making Discord servers for things that shouldn't be Discord servers? Apparently Amazon wasn't listening, as it has revealed plans to shut down the forums for its New World and Lost Ark MMOs in favor of—you guessed it—Discord servers.

Shuhei Yoshida says AI could help game development but 'creativity is more important'
https://www.pcgamer.com/shuhei-yoshida-says-ai-could-help-game-development-but-creativity-is-more-important/
Shuhei Yoshida, former president of SIE Worldwide and PlayStation boss, has some pretty optimistic views on how AI can be a viable tool in the future of game development.

Quantum Break is back on Steam and PC Game Pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/quantum-break-is-back-on-steam-and-pc-game-pass/
Three weeks after disappearing without word or warning, Quantum Break is back on Steam and PC Game Pass.
Quantum Break was pulled from sale earlier this month as a result of licenses that apparently expired while they were in the process of being renewed. It's the sort of thing that happens from time to time—in fact, it happened to Quantum Break's predecessor Alan Wake in 2017, and more recently to the Project Cars games.

Former Control lead designer launches a new studio with NetEase
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-control-lead-designer-launches-a-new-studio-with-netease/
NetEase has launched a new development studio called Anchor Point, based in Barcelona and Seattle and headed up by Paul Ehreth, formerly the lead designer on Remedy's hit multidimensional shooter Control.

Everyone is lining up to talk to a trash can in Honkai: Star Rail
https://www.pcgamer.com/everyone-is-lining-up-to-talk-to-a-trash-can-in-honkai-star-rail/
Out of all the ridiculous objects you can interact with in Honkai: Star Rail (including a toilet and talking plant) one particular trash can has players questioning their own actions.
"You've been staring at it a while, but it's just an ordinary trash can," the narrator text reads when you interact with one of the many metal bins steampunk-style city Belobog early in the game. Your allies look on in disgust and the button prompt appears again.

Bugsnax studio releases 4 'smaller side projects' on Steam and they're all free
https://www.pcgamer.com/bugsnax-studio-releases-four-smaller-side-projects-on-steam-and-theyre-all-free/
If you're in the mood for some free games, Young Horses has them: The developer of Octodad and Bugsnax has released a series of four "smaller side projects" on Steam, and it's giving them all away for nothing.

This could be the end for Microsoft's bid to buy Activision Blizzard, but some analysts think it still has a chance
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-activision-deal-appeal-analysis/
After over a year of lobbying and debating, the UK Competition and Markets Authority has blocked Microsoft's attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, saying that the deal would give Microsoft too strong a position in the cloud gaming market "just as it begins to grow rapidly." Microsoft isn't giving up, but this isn't just an everyday regulatory hurdle: The deal "very well may be" dead, according to Bloomberg senior antitrust litigation analyst Jennifer Rie.
>> LurkerJ was the one that made a thread about this yesterday.

In this 4X strategy city builder you chain floating islands together to build an empire
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-this-4x-strategy-city-builder-you-chain-floating-islands-together-to-build-an-empire/
There's something intriguing about islands floating way up in the clouds, especially if you can connect them with massive chains, pull them together, and build a city on top of them. That's the idea in Myriads: Renaissance, a turn-based strategy game that's got everything from city building to 4X to tower defense systems. There's a free demo you can try now, and the full game is planning a Steam release on June 1.

Get Humankind's new DLC free for a limited time
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-humankinds-new-dlc-free-for-a-limited-time/
Humankind, the Civ-like strategy game where you can change culture each time you move into a new era, has had a few add-ons since it released in 2021. DLC packs have added Cultures of Africa and Cultures of Latin America, and the Together We Rule expansion was all about winning friends and influencing people, bringing a "leverage" currency, an inter-empire forum to facilitate global democracy, agents, and six more cultures and wonders. The latest DLC, the Para Bellum Wonders pack, throws in another six wonders, and you can download it for free until May 10 on Steam and Epic.

Popeye is coming to World of Warships, so you can stop asking for it
https://www.pcgamer.com/popeye-is-coming-to-world-of-warships-so-you-can-stop-asking-for-it/
I'm not a war sim enthusiast but I do respect Wargaming for its often bonkers crossovers. For example, Korn appeared in World of Tanks Blitz a few years ago, and even further back, The Offspring did. But if long-in-the-tooth '90s pop culture isn't your thing, perhaps something from the (checks Wikipedia) 1930s will work? Here you go then: Popeye the Sailor Man is coming to World of Warships.

Cities: Skylines concludes 8 years of city building with a final expansion on May 23
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-concludes-8-years-of-city-building-with-a-final-expansion-on-may-23/
Cities: Skylines has had a fantastic run: 8 years of mods and DLC, inspiring an incalculable number of cities. But with the sequel coming, it's time for the greatest city builder around to finally rest. On May 23, it will receive its last expansion.

'Super duper' Grounded update really does look super until you realise they added fricking wasps
https://www.pcgamer.com/super-duper-grounded-update-really-does-look-super-until-you-realise-they-added-fricking-wasps/
I'm a bit of a pantheist I suppose: I don't believe in a big beardy god in the sky, but I choose to believe there's something divine in all living creatures. Barring the wasp, which can do one. I hate wasps, the feeling seems to be mutual, and as the summer rolls around I once more gear up for battle with the bastards of the skies. If I could press a button and remove all wasps from the face of the Earth I would do it in a heartbeat.
Sir, this is PC Gamer. Ah yes, well I was just looking at this spiffing new update for Grounded, Obsidian's excellent garden-em-up survival sim that pits you against the innate hostility of insects. It's called the Super Duper update because, drum roll please, it adds an item duplication machine called the Super Duper.

Here we go again: Counter-Strike 2 has a Half-Life reference
https://www.pcgamer.com/here-we-go-again-counter-strike-2-has-a-half-life-reference/
I actually miss the days when I thought Half-Life 3 was being worked on in secret, release was just around the corner, and if only we internet sleuths could unscramble Valve's copious hints we would solve The Mystery and be back in the arms of Gordon. It was something to believe in. Now I'm old, weary, the psychological scars are too much, I can't hold out hope any m… wait there's a Half-Life reference in Valve's brand new Counter-Strike 2?!?

Respawn CEO would 'love' to make Titanfall 3, but 'It has to be the right thing'
https://www.pcgamer.com/respawn-ceo-would-love-to-make-titanfall-3-but-it-has-to-be-the-right-thing/
(...)
In a chat with Barron's, Respawn CEO Vince Zampella was asked about the possibility of a Titanfall 3, and seemed pretty receptive to the idea. "I hate to say yes, then people latch onto that, and then skewer you when it doesn't come," said Zampella, "But I would love to see it happen is the real answer".