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

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Wednesday news, part two:

After years of anonymity, gaming's least famous but most recognisable voice has broken cover to chat PEGI 18, AI acting, and his €200 paycheque
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-years-of-anonymity-gamings-most-famous-but-least-recognisable-voice-has-broken-cover-to-chat-pegi-18-ai-acting-and-his-euro200-paycheque/
If you've ever watched a game trailer in Europe, you've almost certainly heard Richard Wells' voice. He is, in his own words, "the guy who says 'PEGI 18' on all of your video games," which is to say he's the smooth baritone that lets you know a game's age rating right before its trailer plays; the British equivalent of that ESRB guy who says "product not yet rated" before E3 trailers. He's ubiquitous but—until he became a TikTok sensation—anonymous, and it turns out he only made €200 (£170) for his work.

The majority of non-LGBTQ+ gamers don't care if a main character is trans, according to GLAAD Gaming's debut report
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-majority-of-non-lgbtq-gamers-dont-care-if-a-main-character-is-trans-according-to-glaad-gamings-debut-report/
To accompany the official launch of GLAAD Gaming, the organisation has released its first report on the state of LGBTQ+ gamers in the industry—and it could banish some common assumptions made by the public at-large.

EA and a studio reportedly invested $125 million making a new singleplayer IP with zero microtransactions, no grind, a shorter running time, and guess what: 'No one bought it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-reportedly-invested-dollar125-million-making-a-new-singleplayer-ip-with-zero-microtransactions-no-grind-a-shorter-running-time-and-guess-what-no-one-bought-it/
A new report by IGN into the wider topic of industry layoffs, which are worse than they've ever been, contains a fascinating insight about one of last year's less-successful AAA titles. Immortals of Aveum was the debut title from Ascendant Studios, released on Steam and consoles in August 2022, came out to mixed reviews and largely sank without trace: PCG's review called it a fun magical FPS that "fails to cast any new spells" on the way to a 68% score.

Deus Ex seems deader than ever as Adam Jensen actor reveals Eidos asked him years ago 'to stop talking about Adam Jensen'
https://www.pcgamer.com/deus-ex-seems-deader-than-ever-as-adam-jensen-actor-reveals-eidos-asked-him-years-ago-to-stop-talking-about-adam-jensen/
It hurts to say it, but Deus Ex seems deader than Beth DuClare right now. While I hope the once and future king of immersive sims won't stay down for long, the layoffs at Eidos Montreal and cancellation of an upcoming DX project have made the series' future seem bleaker than ever. But according to Elias Toufexis—the instantly recognisable voice of Human Revolution and Mankind Divided protagonist Adam Jensen—things have been bleak for years now.

Unions call for strikes at Ubisoft studios in France to protest wages: 'We cannot tolerate being treated as expendable to mitigate their bad decisions'
https://www.pcgamer.com/unions-call-for-strikes-at-ubisoft-studios-in-france-to-protest-wages-we-cannot-tolerate-being-treated-as-expendable-to-mitigate-their-bad-decisions/
After final negotiations "hit a wall," labor unions in France are calling for a one-day strike by Ubisoft employees in the country over what they say are lowball wage increase offers aimed at offsetting management failures.

This week's Baldur's Gate 3 patch will fix its most annoying little party management inconvenience
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-patch-6-party-management/
The next big Baldur's Gate 3 patch is coming this week, and although its kissing-related changes are obviously the star, there's more to it than "improved smooches." Larian announced today that the patch will finally fix a party management inconvenience that I imagine near-universally prompted players to think "ugh, that's slightly annoying" an hour or two into the game.
>> By the way, Hasbro made $90 millions thanks to this game.

World of Warcraft's subscription is about to get almost 3,000% more expensive in Argentina—and it'll 'only get worse with inflation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcrafts-subscription-is-about-to-get-almost-3000-more-expensive-in-argentinaand-itll-only-get-worse-with-inflation/
Last month, Argentinian World of Warcraft players found a nasty surprise in their inbox—an email from Blizzard announcing two separate price hikes to their World of Warcraft subscriptions, making the game prohibitively expensive. Firstly, though, some context is in order.

World of Warcraft's lead storyteller quietly left Blizzard last fall: 'I've felt the itch to stretch my creativity in new directions'
https://www.pcgamer.com/steve-danuser-world-of-warcraft-departure/
The World of Warcraft community discovered almost by accident recently that the lead creator of the game's stories has quietly left Blizzard.
Warcraft narrative director Steve Danuser's departure wasn't announced, but rather discovered by fans who noticed an update to his LinkedIn page that sets the end of his Blizzard employment to last November, right around the time of the annual BlizzCon convention in Anaheim.

More than 20 years after its debut, revered sci-fi adventure The Ur-Quan Masters is finally coming to Steam next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/more-than-20-years-after-its-debut-revered-sci-fi-adventure-the-ur-quan-masters-is-finally-coming-to-steam-next-week/
The Ur-Quan Masters, an open-source remake of the revered sci-fi exploration-adventure Star Control 2, is coming to Steam next week, free for all and with a slightly different title—Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters.

Hearthstone is celebrating 10 years of RNG mayhem with free cards for everyone and a new nostalgia-themed expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-is-celebrating-10-years-of-rng-mayhem-with-free-cards-for-everyone-and-a-new-nostalgia-themed-expansion/
Can you believe Hearthstone turns ten this year? My bank manager can, because over the course of that decade I could have bought a small car rather than a near-complete card collection, but here we are. This week, Blizzard released a slew of announcements about what to expect from what it has dubbed The Year of the Pegasus. (Fun fact: Pegasus was the game's internal codename during early development.)

Some class-locked portal reskins? That'll be $20, please—Diablo 4's hellish microtransactions continue to sting
https://www.pcgamer.com/some-class-locked-portal-reskins-thatll-be-dollar20-pleasediablo-4s-hellish-microtransactions-continue-to-sting/
Microtransactions in fully-priced games are (unfortunately) here to stay for as long as they keep working—that's a bitter pill I've swallowed at this point, though every now and then something comes along to make it sting all over again. As is the case with Diablo 4's recent "Dark Pathways" pack, which wants you to shell out $20 for some portal reskins (and $10 for some coins).

The patch Diablo 4 players hoped would fix its worst endgame grind hasn't fixed its worst endgame grind
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-patch-diablo-4-players-hoped-would-fix-its-worst-endgame-grind-hasnt-fixed-its-worst-endgame-grind/
Diablo 4's newest patch could've been Blizzard's solution to an endgame that mostly consists of grinding a single boss for the best loot, but it doesn't seem like it went far enough.