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

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Monday news, part two:

Vampire Survivors dev opens publishing arm, tells Web3 and F2P mobile games to stuff it
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/vampire-survivors-dev-opens-publishing-arm-tells-web3-and-f2p-mobile-games-to-stuff-it/
Vampire Survivors developer Poncle is branching out from making videogames that are pure sugar in digital form. It's getting businessy, and has announced that it's opening a new publishing division, presumably to help other devs consume hours, days, months of our time with the most absurdly moreish games ever made.

Deadlock's new hero only wants one thing: A sovereign nation in the US state of Wyoming
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/deadlocks-new-hero-only-wants-one-thing-a-sovereign-nation-in-the-us-state-of-wyoming/
One of my favourite things to do in Deadlock is to read up on each hero's lore. Some are as simple as "Jacob Lash is an asshole," while others give a detailed description of a hero's journey and the tragedies they've overcome, like Bebop turning to a life of crime to pay for his creator's medicine. And Deadlock's latest addition is no different. 
Mirage is the newest hero Valve has added to Deadlock. He's a bodyguard for the Djinn ambassador Nashala Dion, who is currently in New York City on a diplomatic mission: Finding a safe home for their kind and, for some reason, the best candidate for a new sovereign land is Wyoming. I've never set foot in the US, so I can't speak on what Wyoming is like compared to the rest of the States, but it does seem like a random choice for a new utopia.
>> By the way, one of the co-creators of Risk of Rain is now working on this game.

Remedy and Tencent enter into a $17m loan agreement that could lead to it owning a larger chunk of the Alan Wake developer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/remedy-and-tencent-enter-into-a-dollar17m-loan-agreement-that-could-lead-to-it-owning-a-larger-chunk-of-the-alan-wake-developer/
Alan Wake and Control developer Remedy has entered into a convertible loan agreement with Chinese conglomerate Tencent, to the amount of €15 million/$16,761,075. This unsecured loan could later be converted into Remedy shares "under certain circumstances" on the third anniversary of the drawdown.

French Ubisoft employees urged to strike over new return to office policy: 'The consequence of its decision will be the loss of our colleagues' jobs'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/french-ubisoft-employees-urged-to-strike-over-new-return-to-office-policy-the-consequence-of-its-decision-will-be-the-loss-of-our-colleagues-jobs/
The SJTV (Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo), a French videogame workers union, has called all Ubisoft employees in France to join in a three-day strike in October, to protest changes in the publisher's global remote work policy. Earlier this week, Ubisoft informed its employees that all workers—in every office, worldwide—would now be expected to return to office work at least three days a week (via GamesIndustry.biz).
>> Poor Ubisoft. It can’t catch a break.

'RPG shooter' Witchfire comes to Steam, and after a year of early access on Epic it's finally turning into the game I always wanted it to be
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/rpg-shooter-witchfire-comes-to-steam-and-after-a-year-of-early-access-on-epic-its-finally-turning-into-the-game-i-always-wanted-it-to-be/
After a year as an Epic Games Store exclusive, the roguelike shooter Witchfire has made its way to Steam—and if you haven't played for a while, or you've been waiting for the early access game to cook a little more, I'm here to tell you that the past 12 months have seen it come a very long way in the right direction.

The Sims 4's Grim Reaper event seems pretty neat actually but, surprising no one, it's also very bugged
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4s-grim-reaper-event-seems-pretty-neat-actually-but-surprising-no-one-its-also-very-bugged/
The Sims 4 is running another login rewards event and although, yes, it's still a little weird for a singleplayer game to run a limited time login event, this one actually has some short but fun quests to play through. The trouble is, and this is going to shock you I'm sure, it's pretty buggy for a lot of people.

New California law inspired by Ubisoft and Sony requires retailers to warn consumers that the digital games they buy can be taken away at any time
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/new-california-law-inspired-by-ubisoft-and-sony-requires-retailers-to-warn-consumers-that-the-digital-games-they-buy-can-be-taken-away-at-any-time/
A new California law set to come into effect in 2025 will make it illegal for sellers to use terms like "buy" or "purchase" in relation to digital goods—movies, books, and of course videogames—unless they provide a "clear and conspicuous" warning to consumers that those goods could be taken away from them at any time.

Mojang reveals the first addition of Minecraft's new year-round update schedule: A creepy forest biome haunted by a tough-to-kill monster
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/mojang-reveals-the-first-addition-of-minecraft-s-year-round-update-schedule-a-creepy-new-forest-biome-haunted-by-a-tough-to-kill-monster/
At today's Minecraft Live 2024 livestream, Mojang revealed the next update coming to the game, the first of a new, more regular cadence of smaller additions. The Pale Garden biome and its resident critter, The Creaking, are set to go live "in the next few months," while players will find them in snapshots, betas, and previews "very soon."

Helldivers 2 players have been tasked with building the 'Democracy Space Station,' a 'gigastructure' of indeterminate firepower that will be aimed by literal democracy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-players-have-been-tasked-with-building-the-democracy-space-station-a-gigastructure-of-indeterminate-firepower-that-will-be-aimed-by-literal-democracy/
Space stations are rad as hell, and now one of these outposts of the final frontier is becoming Helldivers 2's latest frontier in audacious, community-driven storytelling. The game's new major order sees players engaging in the first of a four-part sequence to build the Democracy Space Station. Once built, the community will get to vote on where and how the Democratic Death Star will be deployed.

Check out this Death metal action RPG based on stylish tabletop game Mörk Borg
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/check-out-this-death-metal-action-rpg-based-on-stylish-tabletop-rpg-mork-borg/
The tabletop RPG Mörk Borg is coming to the world of videogames with Mörk Borg: Heresy Supreme—which you can expect to be something like the world of Scandinavian metal blended with the vibes of Dark Souls. The project was announced in a new trailer, posted to YouTube, and will be funded via a Kickstarter campaign before releasing on Steam.