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

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Tuesday news, part two:

Ken Levine says Bioshock was 'almost cancelled' after going over time and over budget, while all publishers cared about was that these games 'don't make any money'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ken-levine-says-bioshock-was-almost-cancelled-after-going-over-time-and-over-budget-while-all-publishers-cared-about-was-that-these-games-dont-make-any-money/
The venerable Edge magazine, one of PC Gamer's sister brands, is currently celebrating the landmark of 400 issues, and such anniversaries are always a good excuse to look back on some of the great moments in gaming history. Edge's new issue features an interview with Ken Levine, now working at Ghost Story Games on Judas, about his time leading Irrational Games and, in particular, the development of Bioshock. To hear Levine tell it, the fact we got the game at all is surprising.
>> I mean, in most work places, if you go over budget and behind schedule, bad things happen.

The Splitgate studio is teasing something new, and it sure looks like more Splitgate
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-splitgate-studio-is-teasing-something-new-and-it-sure-looks-like-more-splitgate/
Two years after announcing the end of updates for the "Halo with portals" shooter Splitgate, developer 1047 Games is teasing something new—and it looks a lot like Splitgate.

Cyberpunk 2 director says CP 2077's catastrophic launch 'crushed' the developers and the subsequent redemption arc was basically 'group therapy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cyberpunk-2-director-says-cp-2077s-catastrophic-launch-crushed-the-developers-and-the-subsequent-redemption-arc-was-basically-group-therapy/
Cyberpunk 2077's release was described by PC Gamer's online editor Fraser Brown as among "the highest-profile launch disasters in videogame history", and it really was bad times. After years of white-hot hype, CP2077 arrived with major technical issues and bugs across all platforms, with things so bad on PlayStation that Sony took the unprecedented step of removing the game from its store. 
(...)
Cyberpunk 2 and Phantom Liberty director Pawel Sasko recently gave an interview to podcast Flow Games (spotted by GR+) in which he goes over this period, and begins by describing the reception as "absolutely crushing" for the development team.

The Witcher 4 is in the 'most advanced' state of development among all the games currently underway at CD Projekt, ahead of The Witcher remake and Cyberpunk 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-witcher-4-is-in-the-most-advanced-state-of-development-among-all-the-games-currently-underway-at-cd-projekt-ahead-of-the-witcher-remake-and-cyberpunk-2/
CD Projekt associate game director Pawel Sasko says Polaris, better known as The Witcher 4—that's not an official title, but that's what we call it—is the "most advanced" project currently in the works at the studio. But don't get too excited thinking about returning to the world of The Witcher anytime soon, because all of the studio's games are still a long way off.

I didn't expect my favorite cozy MMO to do a crossover with a Finnish children's series
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/i-can-t-say-i-expected-my-favorite-mmo-to-do-a-crossover-with-a-finnish-children-s-series/
This weekend, Thatgamecompany kicked off celebrations for the fifth anniversary of its Journey-like flying and collecting MMO Sky: Children of the Light with a giant in-game screen à la a Fortnite concert event. CEO Jenova Chen presented players with a list of upcoming features and improvements to the game—I'm unironically psyched for a favorite emotes quick list—but the big "one more thing" announcement at the end of the keynote was the game's autumn seasonal collaboration: Moomin.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer beta kicks off in August, and this time PlayStation players aren't getting in ahead of the rest of us
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-multiplayer-beta-dates/
In case you'd somehow forgotten that Activision is now part of the Microsoft machine, here's a stark (although not entirely unsurprising) reminder: The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer beta is set to kick off in August, and for the first time in many years we're all jumping into it together.

Genshin Impact voice actors criticize design of new character named after African deity: 'If you're going to use real-world deities, respect them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/genshin-impact-voice-actors-criticize-design-of-new-character-named-after-african-deity-if-youre-going-to-use-real-world-deities-respect-them/
Genshin Impact's upcoming 5.0 update will introduce Natlan, a new region, in August later this year. But after dropping a surprise teaser out of nowhere, a few of the game's voice actors have come out against a new character that shares the name of an African deity, saying the design is disrespectful. 

Yoshi-P is just as confused about Final Fantasy 14 players being horny for a two-headed lizard as I am: 'I would never have guessed this'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/yoshi-p-is-just-as-confused-about-final-fantasy-14-players-being-horny-for-a-two-headed-lizard-as-i-am-i-would-never-have-guessed-this/
By some miracle, I successfully went the entirety of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail without wanting to bone the giant two-headed lizard man Bakool Ja Ja. A surprising feat considering just how many players seem to be down bad for him, somehow putting him on the same level as folk like moody bad boy Emet Selch and goofy gluttonous catboy G'raha Tia. 
(...)
As reported by GamesRadar, Yoshi-P appears to be just as perplexed by the whole thing as I am. Speaking during a Q&A at Japan Expo in Paris—with some handy-dandy translations courtesy of Aita Japan CEO and certified Final Fantasy 14 lover Audrey—Yoshi-P told the audience "I would never have guessed this. This entire dev team was like 'huh?!'"

Tom & Jerry meets Rimworld in this complex city builder that's all about throwing off the yoke of feline tyranny
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/tom-and-jerry-meets-rimworld-in-this-complex-city-builder-thats-all-about-throwing-off-the-yoke-of-feline-tyranny/
Truly all-timer videogames let you do three things: Toil under the yoke of an oppressive overlord, pioneer new frontiers, and eat enough cheese to feed Whitstable. With those facts in mind, consider me very curious to get my hands on Whiskerwood, the new city-builder/elaborate production chain sim from Minakata Dynamics, maker of Railgrade.