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

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Friday news, part two:

Gray Zone Warfare's first patch aims to fix over 200 issues, including one that doomed players to never-ending menu music
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/gray-zone-warfares-first-patch-aims-to-fix-over-200-issues-including-one-that-doomed-players-to-never-ending-menu-music/
Despite a shaky launch during which some players reported performance nightmares, Gray Zone Warfare's latest patch has apparently fixed over 200 issues players were encountering.  

Blizzard confirms it's working on a 1-5 player 'story difficulty' for its big raids in World of Warcraft: The War Within, and it's honestly about time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-confirms-its-working-on-a-1-5-player-story-difficulty-for-its-big-raids-in-world-of-warcraft-the-war-within-and-its-honestly-about-time/
World of Warcraft's always had an issue with its storytelling—I mean, it's historically had a lot of issues if you tally them all up—but first and foremost is the problem that, if you want to cap off the expansion story, then you'll need to get your raiding boots on.
(...)
To keep up with said times, WoW's really shifting how it handles its storytelling in some big ways. Follower dungeons were a huge step forward, letting players experience Dragonflight's story beats without Killzmornn the Death Knight spamming "gogogo" in party chat. Later, I confirmed with both associate design director Maria Hamilton and Ion Hazzikostas that these dungeons (and delves) would be used as story vehicles for the aspiring solo player in the upcoming expansion, The War Within. 

In co-op Viking survival game Aska you can work smarter, not harder, by making your followers do all your chores
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/in-co-op-viking-survival-game-aska-you-can-work-smarter-not-harder-by-making-your-followers-do-all-your-chores/
While you're busy exploring and dying in Valheim's new boiling hot biome, here's a gentle reminder that there's another Viking survival game simmering on the stove. Aska, published by Thunderful Games, will enter early access next month, and while it supports four players in co-op you'll never be alone—even if you play it solo.

A new Shadow of the Erdtree promo image is almost 100% our first look at one of Elden Ring's most mysterious characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-new-shadow-of-the-erdtree-promo-image-is-almost-100-our-first-look-at-one-of-elden-rings-most-mysterious-characters/
FromSoftware has finally started ramping up its Elden Ring expansion pack hype train with less than a month to go until Shadow of the Erdtree's release. Hot on the heels of Tuesday's pre-rendered story trailer, FromSoft has shared promo art of a new NPC, and I think we already know exactly who they are.

Atari vanquishes its most ancient foe by acquiring Intellivision, declares end to 'the longest-running console war in history'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/atari-vanquishes-its-most-ancient-foe-by-acquiring-intellivision-declares-end-to-the-longest-running-console-war-in-history/
Atari has today announced the purchase of the Intellivision brand alongside "certain games" from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. This is a melancholy coda to the early days of home consoles in the West, where in the US market especially the Atari 2600 dominated the late 1970s scene. Intellivision was one of Atari's main rivals, almost entirely because the machine had the backing of Mattel (these were the days when videogames were sold in the toy section of stores), and launched its first console in 1979.

Players unlock unreleased content in live service game ultimate hacker style: setting their system clocks forward a few weeks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/players-unlock-unreleased-content-in-live-service-game-ultimate-hacker-style-setting-their-system-clocks-forward-a-few-weeks/
In the modern gaming era, it always feels like live service games are perfect black boxes only their developers can understand or control⁠—but sometimes, something happens that shows just how ad hoc and fragile all these systems are. Case in point: players managed to access unreleased content in the Genshin-adjacent gacha game, Wuthering Waves, by just moving their system clocks forward a few weeks.

Keith David speaks his first words as Destiny 2's Commander Zavala: 'I used to think I'd give anything to bring him back'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/keith-david-speaks-his-first-words-as-destiny-2s-commander-zavala-i-used-to-think-id-give-anything-to-bring-him-back/
The untimely death of Lance Reddick in 2023 was felt throughout the entertainment world. For Destiny 2 fans, the loss was especially acute: Reddick had provided the voice of Commander Zavala, Vanguard Commander of the Last City, since the release of the original Destiny in 2014. The character's fate in the wake of Reddick's passing was unclear at first, but Bungie opted to keep him around, with Keith David, another widely-respected character actor, stepping in to fill the role.
Eight months after David's casting announcement, we've finally got our first look—or, more appropriately, listen—at his take on the character, and I have to say, it hits the spot.

Relic Entertainment is 'returning to its roots as an independent creative studio,' but it's also owned by a global investment firm now
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/relic-entertainment-is-returning-to-its-roots-as-an-independent-creative-studio-but-its-also-owned-by-a-global-investment-firm-now/
Less than two months after being cut loose by Sega, which resulted in another round of layoffs at the studio, Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment says it is "returning to its roots as an independent creative studio" with support from investment firm Emona Capital LLP.

'I'm not a big fan of survival games,' says director of 2024's best survival game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/abiotic-factor-interview-survival-immersive-sim/
My last few weeks with Abiotic Factor have been a cure for survival crafting burnout. I thought I'd never want to look at another crafting bench again, but it turns out, all I really needed was a genuinely fresh perspective on survival crafting to get on board. What first drew me in was Abiotic's setting, a post-disaster underground lab inspired by Half-Life's Black Mesa facility.

It turns out you can find Idris Elba's Cyberpunk 2077 character hanging out and working a regular job in Night City before you start the expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/it-turns-out-you-can-find-idris-elbas-cyberpunk-2077-character-hanging-out-and-working-a-regular-job-in-night-city-before-the-expansion-starts/
CD Projekt Red always brings a special attention to detail in its games: I remember my shock at learning about the Witcher 3 easter egg that takes seven in-game years to find. That same sensibility definitely holds strong in Cyberpunk 2077, where you can actually find Idris Elba's character, Solomon Reed—who was added to the game in the Phantom Liberty expansion—tucked away in Night City minding his own business before you start Phantom Liberty's main quest.