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

[JEMC]

Tuesday news, part two:

Elden Ring fans are going hollow at the lack of DLC news at Summer Game Fest
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-fans-are-going-hollow-at-the-lack-of-dlc-news-at-summer-game-fest/
I was there for the long wait between Elden Ring's initial 2019 announcement and its release in 2023. There was a collective, memed-upon despair—the kind only the most devout of FromSoftware gamers can summon—at the lack of further news following its E3 2019 trailer.
History is doomed to repeat itself. While we've been given a screenshot—one that's been the source of an entire Erdtree's worth of speculation—FromSoftware have otherwise been characteristically mysterious about their upcoming DLC, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

Starfield's premium editions will get you into the game 5 days early, just like Diablo
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfields-premium-editions-will-get-you-into-the-game-5-days-early-just-like-diablo/
Amongst all the great torrent of information about Starfield that was revealed during yesterday's online showcase was a look at the game's two special editions. They're both pretty expensive (one of them is really expensive, but it comes with a watch—more on that below) but if you're willing to spring for them, you can get into the game up to five days ahead of the official launch.

Microsoft exec says Starfield has 'the fewest bugs any Bethesda game ever shipped with'
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-exec-says-starfield-has-the-fewest-bugs-any-bethesda-game-ever-shipped-with/
According to Microsoft Game Studios head Matt Booty, a man who presumably doesn't mind being haunted by his words, Starfield currently has fewer bugs than any previous Bethesda game has had at launch.

Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert wasn't involved with the Sea of Thieves DLC: 'Happened behind my back'
https://www.pcgamer.com/monkey-island-creator-ron-gilbert-wasnt-involved-with-the-sea-of-thieves-dlc-happened-behind-my-back/
When I heard during the Xbox Showcase that Sea of Thieves is getting a Monkey Island expansion, I thought to myself, "That's nice—I'm glad that Ron Gilbert is cashing in." But as it turns out, he is not, and in fact he had nothing to do with it.

Star Wars Outlaws devs say they want to nail that Han Solo 'scoundrel fantasy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-outlaws-devs-say-they-want-to-nail-that-han-solo-scoundrel-fantasy/
In a recent interview, Star Wars: Outlaws game director Mathias Karlson and narrative director Navid Khavari sat down with GameSpot to dish out some more details on the upcoming open world Star Wars game. They give the impression of new character Kay Vess as an up-and-coming, Han Solo-style character diving into the galaxy's underworld at one of the darkest points in the movie timeline.

Capcom heard you like fighting dinosaurs more than actual players in Exoprimal, and they're on it
https://www.pcgamer.com/capcom-heard-you-like-fighting-dinosaurs-more-than-actual-players-in-exoprimal-and-theyre-on-it/
Exoprimal looks cooler in every trailer I see for it. It's pretty fun too—those exosuits might remind you of Bioware's failed Anthem RPG, but Exoprimal's armaments are purpose-built for slaughtering dinosaurs that drop out of sky portals. Each suit is essentially its own class, including tanks, supports, and damage dealers.

The world of Dragon's Dogma 2 is 'roughly 4 times' bigger than the first game's
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-world-of-dragons-dogma-2-is-roughly-4-times-bigger-than-the-first-games/
We didn't get a ton of new Dragon's Dogma 2 information at Capcom's showcase today, but director Hideaki Itsuno did appear to provide some context for the trailer released a couple weeks ago. One of those details is that the action RPG will have a very big world.

Diablo 3's 'Hidden Camp' has been discovered in Diablo 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-3s-hidden-camp-has-been-discovered-in-diablo-4/
The Diablo games are well known for their callbacks and Easter eggs, going all the way back to the secret Cow Level in Diablo 2. Diablo 4 is no exception to that rule: Some, like the return of the original Diablo music in the game's first act, are obvious and unmissable, but others are much better hidden.

Blizzard's Diablo 4 stats suggest barely anyone is trying PvP
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzards-diablo-4-stats-suggest-barely-anyone-is-trying-pvp/
Back in March, not long after Diablo 4 concluded its second beta weekend, Blizzard put out a set of stats revealing that players had collectively spent about 7000 real-life years in the game over its six days of accessibility. Well, turns out those were rookie numbers, because the latest stats say we've now all cumulatively spent over 30,000 years—or 276 million hours—in Sanctuary since the game's early access period began on June 1.
>> Oh, and a dataminer has found that there's a fifth difficulty setting.

New Square Enix CEO uses debut to dunk on the teachers who told him to stop playing games: 'They would be very surprised!'
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-square-enix-ceo-uses-debut-to-dunk-on-the-teachers-who-told-him-to-stop-playing-games-they-would-be-very-surprised/
There's been some confusion over the leadership of Square Enix recently, with the company announcing that its president and CEO of 10 years, Yosuke Matsuda, would be handing over both roles to Takashi Kiryu… and then business continuing as normal. It appears the handover period is now complete, however, with Kiryu taking to the stage at the Final Fantasy 16 pre-launch celebration to announce his appointment, and instantly win the hearts and minds of Square Enix fans.

After Starfield, Todd Howard thinks The Elder Scrolls 6 may be his last hurrah: 'I'm not getting any younger'
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-starfield-todd-howard-thinks-the-elder-scrolls-6-may-be-his-last-hurrah-im-not-getting-any-younger/
If you'd asked me yesterday, I'd have told you that Todd Howard was hewn from a stone they found in Bethesda's cellar. That he was some kind of implacable manifestation of the world spirit, fated and cursed to spend all eternity making games where all the physics objects on a shelf ascend slightly when you pick one of them up. But apparently he's just, like, a guy in his 50s? Who thinks maybe he only has one or two more of these things left in him? Strange but true.

After years of expansion and the recent collapse of a $2 billion mystery deal, Embracer Group announces major layoffs and studio closures
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-years-of-expansion-and-the-recent-collapse-of-a-dollar2-billion-mystery-deal-embracer-group-announces-major-layoffs-and-studio-closures/
Embracer has announced a "comprehensive" restructuring of its business, indicating that layoffs, game cancellations, and studio closures will be happening over the next few months. The goal is to get the group's debt under SEK 10 billion (just under a billion dollars) by the end of FY 2023/24 (i.e. next March), and the most sobering part of the announcement is its intent to cut overheads by at least 10% per year. Overheads in this context mostly meaning wages.
>> Well, it was bound to happen.