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

[JEMC]

The Friday news, part two of three:

At Activision's internal meeting—inexplicably hosted by James Corden—Bobby Kotick promises a 'new dimension of emotional connection' powered by AI
https://www.pcgamer.com/at-activisions-internal-meetinginexplicably-hosted-by-james-cordenbobby-kotick-promises-a-new-dimension-of-emotional-connection-powered-by-ai/
As reported by Windows Central, sources have shared the inside details of an internal townhall yesterday between Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and Activision-Blizzard employees.

2023's biggest sleeper hit Dave the Diver just got a hefty content update featuring auto farming, new missions, and the electrifying concept of a 'lobster party'
https://www.pcgamer.com/2023s-biggest-sleeper-hit-dave-the-diver-just-got-a-hefty-content-update-featuring-auto-farming-new-missions-and-the-electrifying-concept-of-a-lobster-party/
2023's best game about managing an underwater sushi restaurant is getting even better. The already ludicrously deep Dave the Diver got its first content update yesterday, bringing a surfeit of improvements to the undersea management sim and, crucially, introducing the spellbinding notion of the "Lobster Party".

Paradox says The Lamplighters League sales were 'a big disappointment,' confirms recent layoffs at developer Harebrained Schemes
https://www.pcgamer.com/paradox-says-the-lamplighters-league-sales-were-a-big-disappointment-confirms-recent-layoffs-at-developer-harebrained-schemes/
Paradox Interactive is taking a big financial hit on the turn-based tactics game The Lamplighters League, saying that sales of the game have been "a big disappointment." Paradox also confirmed that significant layoffs had been made at developer Harebrained Schemes, but clarified that those layoffs occurred in the summer, a few months before The Lamplighters League was released.

Ark: Survival Evolved studio settles legal dispute over alleged code theft, and in a surprise twist they're now helping to 're-release' the game they said ripped them off
https://www.pcgamer.com/ark-survival-evolved-studio-settles-legal-dispute-over-alleged-code-theft-and-in-a-surprise-twist-theyre-now-helping-to-re-release-the-game-they-said-ripped-them-off/
A dispute between Ark: Survival Evolved developer Studio Wildcard and the makers of Chinese strategy game Myth of Empires has come to a happy ending, as all parties involved say they're now going to work together to "re-release" Myth of Empires on Steam and other platforms in early 2024.

Bungie is giving Destiny 2 players $45 of in-game currency to say sorry for accidentally banning them from the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-is-giving-destiny-2-players-dollar45-of-in-game-currency-to-say-sorry-for-accidentally-banning-them-from-the-game/
A common refrain from gamers caught cheating online is that they've been falsely convicted of a crime they didn't commit. It's hard to know who's telling the truth and who's just lying, because of course you'd lie if you were caught cheating. When we're lucky, the lies are exposed in a dramatic, extremely funny fashion. But sometimes the accused are telling the truth, and so it is that Bungie is now forking over 5,000 Silver to "a small number" of Destiny 2 players who were banned from the game for cheating, even though they weren't.

Overwatch fans unite to hate on $40 Diablo skins in its latest season
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-season-7-is-off-to-a-rough-start-as-fans-unite-to-hate-on-dollar40-diablo-skins/
Less than 24 hours since its release, Overwatch 2's latest season has ignited angry Reddit threads and TikTok comments from fans who are unhappy with the value of its paid hero skins.
Most of the criticisms target the $40 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle which includes two highly-anticipated Diablo-themed skins: Lilith Moira and Inarius Pharah. The skins transform both Overwatch heroes into the deceptive characters from Blizzard's dark fantasy action RPG, and even gives them new voice lines during combat. Of the two skins, however, Lilith Moira is the star of the season, flawlessly capturing Moira's controversial reputation in the community and the game's story.

Overwatch 2's Hanzo was temporarily removed for turning his bow into a machine gun
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2s-hanzo-temporarily-removed-for-turning-his-bow-into-a-machine-gun/
Say goodbye to Hanzo, Overwatch 2's grumpy bowman and the star of the latest season's battle pass. A bug that allowed him to shoot his bow like an assault rifle has prompted Blizzard to temporarily remove him from the game.
Update: Hanzo has returned!

The wealthiest player in Old School Runescape, with more than 1 trillion (yes, trillion) gold, has been banned
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-wealthiest-player-in-old-school-runescape-with-more-than-1-trillion-yes-trillion-gold-has-been-banned/
Old School Runescape player and streamer BTCs, known as the wealthiest player in the game with more than one trillion gold to his name, has been permanently banned from Runescape over allegations of real-world trading—that is, trading items in the game for anything outside of it, typically real money. It's a stunningly expensive ban: Even though OSRS gold has no official real-world value according to the terms of service (because you're not allowed to trade it for real money), the price of that much gold on grey-market gold selling sites would be in excess of $160,000.

Team Fortress 2 community loses it, decides to 'meme a character into existence through the power of mass gaslighting' while Valve focuses on Counter-Strike
https://www.pcgamer.com/team-fortress-2-community-loses-it-decides-to-meme-a-character-into-existence-through-the-power-of-mass-gaslighting-while-valve-focuses-on-counter-strike/
We need to do some kind of wellness check on the Team Fortress 2 community. Sure, the game might have gotten a big summer update and smashed its all-time concurrent player record in the last year, but it's hardly the apple of Valve's eye in 2023. Players of the venerable shooter were left to gaze forlornly over at Counter-Strike 2 when that game was announced back in March, wondering if TF2 might get similar treatment "in another decade".
I think that loneliness might have driven the poor souls to breaking point. In a fit of nostalgia, players across the TF2 community are reminiscing about better times, the golden old days when the game was a brand new and potential-filled part of The Orange Box. Specifically, they're all singing tributes to the game's missing tenth class: The Madcap. Gone but not forgotten.

One of the biggest twists in Baldur's Gate 3 is blatantly foreshadowed by a humble bit of cutlery and some song lyrics
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-the-biggest-twists-in-baldurs-gate-3-is-blatantly-foreshadowed-by-a-humble-bit-of-cutlery-and-some-song-lyrics/
Before I dive into this little Baldur's Gate 3 revelation—this article contains big, stonking spoilers for the game's third act. I'm talking about twists that are of major importance to a key figure in the game's plot—you have been warned, adventurer. The third act of Baldur's Gate 3 sees a handful of shocking reveals concerning the Guardian, that helpfully dreamy visitor you create at the start of the game.

Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya peels out of Platinum in a Lamborghini after 17 years to start a YouTube channel: 'I'm out of a job. Please subscribe'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bayonetta-creator-hideki-kamiya-peels-out-of-platinum-in-a-lamborghini-after-17-years-to-start-a-youtube-channel-im-out-of-a-job-please-subscribe/
Two weeks after announcing his surprise exit from Platinum Games—the studio he co-founded back in the mid-2000s—Hideki Kamiya has departed in the most Hideki Kamiya way ever. The Bayonetta creator peeled out of Platinum's parking lot in a Lamborghini, announcing that he's "off to the unemployment centre" and starting a brand new YouTube channel.

Battle Royale, but make it WarioWare—this silly demo from Steam's Next Fest lets you rap battle your foes to death as a pigeon (in sunglasses)
https://www.pcgamer.com/battle-royale-but-make-it-wariowarethis-silly-demo-from-steams-next-fest-lets-you-rap-battle-your-foes-to-death-as-a-pigeon-in-sunglasses/
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is flying from the roost later this month, and it's so dumb and stupid I kind of love it. To boil down the concept: imagine Fall Guys, but with rhythm-based minigames in the style of Warioware. You can play a demo of it right now as part of Steam's Next Fest until October 16.

This new indie game mashes up Diablo with Escape From Tarkov in a 'PvPvE fantasy extraction RPG'
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-indie-game-mashes-up-diablo-with-escape-from-tarkov-in-a-pvpve-fantasy-extraction-rpg/
Back in February, Elodie Games teased a new co-op action RPG codenamed Project Skies. Today it officially revealed the game, and it's fair to say that things have changed just a little bit between then and now: It's called Seekers of Skyveil, and it's a "PvPvE fantasy extraction RPG" that blends conventional APRG mechanics with an unusual mix of other influences from games like League of Legends and Escape From Tarkov.

Trackmania changes its subs model after belatedly realising it was too generous, dev says it has 'to be realistic'
https://www.pcgamer.com/trackmania-changes-its-subs-model-after-belatedly-realising-it-was-too-generous-dev-says-it-has-to-be-realistic/
Developer Nadeo has announced changes to the Trackmania business model, following the 2020 game's recent re-release on consoles. This iteration of Trackmania was something of a soft reboot for the series (heavily based on Trackmania Nations) and arrived with a free-to-play business model, under which players could access a bunch of the game's features for free and subscribe to access additional community content: "standard" access costing around $10 a year, and "club" access $25 a year.
(...)
In a new post on the game's site Nadeo says the console release has "surpassed our highest expectations in terms of both amount of players and playing time" which means "we need to adapt the quantity of content given for free with the Starter Access". Adapting the quantity of content, of course, means it's been giving too much away. There's even what could be considered a slight backhand at the moaners: Nadeo says it has "to be realistic and compare the situation with the efforts made by the studio".

House Flipper 2's sandbox mode basically looks like The Sims build mode in first person
https://www.pcgamer.com/house-flipper-2s-sandbox-mode-basically-looks-like-the-sims-build-mode-in-first-person/
I'll admit I passed on the original House Flipper craze because I'm not one for job sim games. But I really like to build and decorate houses, which, it turns out, House Flipper 2 is totally prepared to support. House Flipper dev Frozen District has already announced that the sequel would have a sandbox mode, but now it's been shown off in a new trailer. I'm all in this time.

Diablo 4's poor Sorcerers spot a glimmer of hope for the Hydra to the tune of a 400% damage bump—turns out it's likely just to compensate for a bug fix
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4s-poor-sorcerers-spot-a-glimmer-of-hope-for-the-hydra-to-the-tune-of-a-400-damage-bumpturns-out-its-likely-just-to-compensate-for-a-bug-fix/
Diablo 4's sorcerers have had, uh… a bit of a hard time, the poor guys. While they were super promising in the game's beta—with a ton of sorcerous excitement when the game opened its gates—things haven't exactly been smooth sailing since.
(...)
But for some players, hope shines on the horizon with patch 1.2.0—the Hydra, one of the Sorcerer's skills, has received a 400% buff! Well, you know what they say—there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Sites like WoWHead correctly assert that, yes, the summoned Hydra skill has received a 400% increase (from 12% to 60%), but that doesn't tell the whole story.