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

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Friday news, part two:

Survive a zombie outbreak and screw over other players in The Walking Dead: Betrayal's open beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/survive-a-zombie-outbreak-and-screw-over-other-players-in-the-walking-dead-betrayals-open-beta/
The Walking Dead: Betrayal is a third-person survival-and-murder sim in which a group of eight people must work together to survive a zombie outbreak somewhere in rural Canada. It sounds, and looks, a lot like the outstanding 2019 survival-deception game Project Winter—which makes sense, it's being developed by the same studio—but with one intriguing twist: Roaming hordes of zombies means there's not always time to think about your next move.

The BioWare layoffs include the writer responsible for Dragon Age's best character
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-bioware-layoffs-include-the-writer-responsible-for-dragon-ages-best-character/
BioWare is laying off 50 employees, studio manager Gary McKay announced yesterday. No mention of what roles were being made redundant was made at the time, only that the studio's "commitment remains steadfast" when it comes to the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. That's hard to believe now, in light of the fact that writer Mary Kirby, who gave the world the hairy-chested Varric, is among those looking for new employment.

Starfield's starter ship has been tested in Kerbal Space Program, and the poor thing won't stop exploding
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfields-starter-ship-has-been-tested-in-kerbal-space-program-and-the-poor-thing-wont-stop-exploding/
Bethesda's mega RPG Starfield looms on the horizon, arriving planetside in September—and the excitement for some fans has reached a fever pitch. One such fan by the name of SWDennis on Youtube decided to try and contain this excitement by recreating the game's starter ship—the Frontier—in Kerbal Space Program (KSP) and, in typical KSP fashion, the poor thing cannot land to save its life.

Pete Hines can't even put a number on how long Starfield takes to complete: 'I'm at 150-160 hours on my current playthrough and I haven't even come close'
https://www.pcgamer.com/pete-hines-cant-even-put-a-number-on-how-long-starfield-takes-to-complete-im-at-150-160-hours-on-my-current-playthrough-and-i-havent-even-come-close/
It's the final days of Starfield's run-up to launch, and Bethesda has arrived at Gamescom in full force to promote it. Game director Todd Howard teased unannounced Starfield surprises at Opening Night Live, head of publishing Pete Hines told players not to skip Starfield's "activities," and now Hines is talking hour counts.

Starfield has a New Game+ mode with 'unique and exciting twist,' in case the sheer size of the game isn't enough to keep you playing for hundreds of hours anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-has-a-new-game-mode-with-unique-and-exciting-twist-in-case-the-sheer-size-of-the-game-isnt-enough-to-keep-you-playing-for-hundreds-of-hours-anyway/
To hear Bethesda tell it, Starfield is very much like space as perceived by Douglas Adams: You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to Starfield. In light of that, a New Game+ mode might seem like a bit of a waste, and yet according to a new GQ feature on the game, it will have one—of some sort.
>> Unfortunately, there's no word on what this mode offers.

You can launch Starfield as early as August 31, its global release times confirm
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-launch-starfield-as-early-as-august-31-its-global-release-times-confirm/
The big RPGs of 2023 just keep coming and it's nearly time to fasten your spacebelt for Starfield's launch. Bethesda has distributed the official itinerary for takeoff today so we can all be on the same page about exactly when this game actually comes out. It's either September 1 or September 6, depending on how you view early access for premium edition purchasers.
As several big games have done recently, Starfield is muddying the meaning of "early access" and consequently "launch date" as well, but Bethesda's global (galactic?) release times infographic should mostly sort things out.

Todd Howard kinda wishes he hadn't announced The Elder Scrolls 6 the way he did
https://www.pcgamer.com/todd-howard-kinda-wishes-he-hadnt-announced-the-elder-scrolls-6-the-way-he-did/
We've been talking an awful lot about Starfield over the past few weeks, but hey, what about Bethesda's other upcoming mega-RPG, The Elder Scrolls 6? It's been a full five years since the next great adventure in Tamriel was announced, and we still know absolutely nothing about it. That's unlikely to change anytime soon, judging from a new interview with GQ, in which game director Todd Howard admitted that if he had to do that reveal all over again, he might handle it a little differently.

WoW Classic's hardcore servers have launched, giving Blizzard fans a whole new way to punish themselves
https://www.pcgamer.com/wow-classics-hardcore-servers-have-launched-giving-blizzard-fans-a-whole-new-way-to-punish-themselves/
World of Warcraft Classic's hardcore servers—which have been available on its PTR for some time—have officially launched on its live realms, alongside an official trailer which you can watch below.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is coming to Game Pass on day one, and will be inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Firefly
https://www.pcgamer.com/citizen-sleeper-2-starward-vector-is-coming-to-game-pass-on-day-one-and-will-be-inspired-by-cowboy-bebop-and-firefly/
I played Citizen Sleeper right before moving to a new city on my own this year, and the experience of coming to a foreign, terrifying space—only to build a home there against all odds, finding reasons to stay—was one of those irreplaceable indie gaming moments that changed the way my brain's wired. To say I'm excited for Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector is an understatement, even if I'm sure it'll make me bawl my eyes out all over again.

And these are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• GOG only has new Deals of the Day, and the first one is RimWorld, 20% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/rimworld
  • And the RimWorld - Royalty DLC gets a 10% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/rimworld_royalty
• The GOG-Opera GX Platformer Bundle, with three games, gets a 72% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/gogopera_gx_platformer_bundle
• And the last DotD is Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation + Chronicles, 86% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tomb_raider_the_last_revelation_chronicles

+Steam

• The Icarus Relaunch Sale features up to 50% discounts until August, 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/icarus
• Tormented Souls, that has a demo, will be 50% off until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1367590/Tormented_Souls/
• Saints Row has launched on the store and will be 67% off until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/742420/Saints_Row/
• Clanfolk, still in Early Access, gets a 25% discount until the 4th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1700870/Clanfolk/
• Destiny 2 has some of its content of sale with up to 67% discounts until the 5th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1085660/Destiny_2/
• Planet of Lana gets a 25% discount until September, the 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1608230/Planet_of_Lana/
• And the last one is For The King, that's going to be free to play during the weekend and 75% off until the 7th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/527230/For_The_King/

And that's it. Now go, go have a good and gaming weekend.