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

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The second part of the Tuesday news:

After the supposedly final flourish of 1.6, Stardew Valley creator says 'I could keep working on the game forever' and is 'not going to say the book is closed'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/after-the-supposedly-final-flourish-of-16-stardew-valley-creator-says-i-could-keep-working-on-the-game-forever-and-im-not-going-to-say-the-book-is-closed/
Earlier this year Stardew Valley received patch 1.6, a final flourish from the game's creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone that added a host of new features to a game that's now over eight years old. PC Gamer got the opportunity to talk to Barone in our latest issue about this apparent full stop, and how the developer feels about a game that has now shifted north of 30 million copies.

Crusader Kings 3's next expansion is the one we've all been waiting for, and it's only a few months away
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/crusader-kings-3s-next-expansion-is-the-one-weve-all-been-waiting-for-and-its-only-a-few-months-away/
When Crusader Kings 3: Roads to Power was announced back in February, the grand strategy romp's community was the most enthusiastic it had ever been. I like most of the game's DLC, but the broad reception to the majority of Paradox's post-launch offerings has been that they don't have a big enough impact. Roads to Power, though, sounds like it's going to make a significant splash. 

Team Fortress 2 players gather over 140,000 petition signatures in the latest campaign against the ongoing aimbot menace
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/team-fortress-2-players-gather-over-140000-petition-signatures-in-the-latest-campaign-against-the-ongoing-aimbot-menace/
17 years after release, Team Fortress 2 still has a devoted fanbase—one that keeps the classic team shooter in the upper echelons of Steam's concurrent player rankings. And today, through an online petition for the #SaveTF2 campaign, over 140,000 members of that fanbase are declaring they've had enough.

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios Group is closing the Montreal studio it acquired just 8 months ago
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/just-cause-developer-avalanche-studios-group-is-closing-the-montreal-studio-it-acquired-just-8-months-ago/
The depressing, alarming, infuriating trend of videogame industry layoffs continued unabated today with news that Avalanche Studios Group, best known for the Just Cause series, is closing two of its offices, in Montreal and New York, and putting around 50 people out of work.

Ubisoft adds another studio to what seems like an increasingly desperate effort to finally get Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake finished
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/ubisoft-adds-another-studio-to-what-seems-like-an-increasingly-desperate-effort-to-finally-get-prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-remake-finished/
A year after announcing that work on the long-struggling Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake was starting over from square one, Ubisoft has roped another studio into it: Ubisoft Toronto is now on the job.

Summer Game Fest will focus on existing games, so don't hype yourself up for 'games that are years and years out,' says Geoff Keighley
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/summer-game-fest-will-focus-on-existing-games-so-dont-hyper-yourself-up-for-games-that-are-years-and-years-out-says-geoff-keighley/
In the wake of E3's demise, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest has emerged as its self-appointed heir. SGF livestreams in years past have brought big reveals like 2021's Elden Ring gameplay, and we should expect more of that kind of thing this year, according to Keighley: That is, trailers and announcements related to games we already know about, rather than earth-shattering reveals of unannounced games.

OTK Expo will show over 30 indie games on Tuesday as the June showcases kick off
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/otk-expo-will-show-over-30-indie-games-on-tuesday-as-the-june-showcases-kick-off/
Just to be different, Sony initiated the gaming showcase season in May with its State of Play stream, but the bulk of the shows are this week and next. First out of the gate is the OTK Games Expo on Tuesday, June 4.
The OTK Expo is focused on "games from small teams with big ideas," and its participants include Blue Manchu Games, maker of Void Bastards and the upcoming Wild Bastards, and Apogee Entertainment, the reborn indie publisher whose stamp was on some of the most important games of the '90s. Over 30 games will be represented, according to the organizers.

Developer of the latest anime gacha hit apologises 5 times for launch issues in a single letter and doles out in-game treats like candy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/developer-of-the-latest-anime-gacha-hit-apologises-5-times-for-launch-issues-in-a-single-letter-and-doles-out-in-game-treats-like-candy/
Wuthering Waves is a new Genshin-style gacha game from developer Kuro Games and, after going semi-viral on social media and attracting a whole bunch of players at launch, crashed into a wall of technical issues and bugs. This wasn't your usual collection of minor launch snafus, rather, Wuthering Waves suffered everything from terrible performance to placeholder NPCs and visual glitches. Best oversight of all? Players were able to access content early in ultimate hacker style: setting their system clocks forward a few weeks.
It's been a big old mess which, given this is a live service game, becomes more of a problem the longer it drags on. Kuro Games has previously apologised to players and now is doing so again, with the publication of a new open letter that is the studio equivalent of wearing a hair shirt. To sum it up: they're really, really, really sorry.

Tactical Breach Wizards, a turn-based strategy game about spec-ops casters with a habit of throwing people out of windows, has a free demo after years in the cauldron
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/tactical-breach-wizards-a-turn-based-strategy-game-about-spec-ops-casters-with-a-habit-of-throwing-people-out-of-windows-has-a-free-demo-after-years-in-the-cauldron/
It might just be my history with City of Heroes—an MMO which had witches and wizards aplenty in its modern comic-book styled setting—or my love of Dimension 20's Fantasy High, but I'm a huge fan of modern magic settings. Give me a witch in a leather jacket and I'm basically there.
Tactical Breach Wizards, which we previewed back in May 2021, has been in the oven for a while—and, at long last, has a playable demo on Steam.

Pax Dei, the new MMO from EVE alumni, is attempting a magic system that makes you feel special, where 'you might be the only one' who's discovered a new spell
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/pax-dei-the-new-mmo-from-eve-alumni-is-attempting-a-magic-system-that-makes-you-feel-special-where-you-might-be-the-only-one-whos-discovered-a-new-spell/
In the MMOs where I spend most of my time, big achievements tend to be things like guilds completing a raid before anyone else, or being the first player to hit max level at the start of a new expansion. And as impressive as some of these feats are, they are still part of the largely linear journey that most players will eventually experience. Pax Dei, a "social sandbox" that's launching in early access soon, is doing things differently.

Hidetaka Miyazaki says Shadow of the Erdtree had to be big, because he wanted Elden Ring players 'to experience that sense of discovery and that sense of wonder' all over again
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/hidetaka-miyazaki-erdtree-size-sense-of-discovery/
I'm going to let you in on a little secret: FromSoftware has been playing coy about the size of Shadow of the Erdtree, the Elden Ring expansion now more than two years in the making. In past interviews the developer has suggested it's roughly the size of Limgrave, the starting area in the base game. Maybe even a little bigger. But I spent a full day playing Shadow of the Erdtree at FromSoftware's offices in Tokyo last month, and I can assure you that estimate is sneakily setting the studio up to underpromise and overdeliver.