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

[JEMC]

Wednesday news, part two:

Concord isn't coming back, and the developer is done for too: Sony says it considered its options and apparently 'the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/concord-isnt-coming-back-and-the-developer-is-done-for-too-sony-says-it-considered-its-options-and-apparently-the-best-path-forward-is-to-permanently-sunset-the-game-and-close-the-studio/
It looks like Concord won't be making the comeback I predicted, as Sony announced today that the game will not be brought back, and developer Firewalk Studio is being closed.
>> the-pi-guy made a thread about this yesterday.

Rebellion's just surprise rebooted a '90s classic and released it on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/rebellions-just-surprise-rebooted-a-90s-classic-and-released-it-on-steam/
If you're of a certain vintage then Speedball, and more specifically Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, is an all-timer. Created by the one and only Bitmap Brothers for the Amiga, Speedball is a no-holds-barred future sport that's a little like someone stuck hockey, rugby and UFC into a blender: Two teams batter the life out of each other while throwing the ball around an enclosed arena trying to score goals.
Today Rebellion, best-known for the Sniper Elite series, surprise launched a reboot of the series: Speedball is now in early access on Steam (£15/$20), and the launch trailer's below.

13 years after Shadows of the Damned's notoriously difficult development with EA, Suda51 has fully healed from the 'injury' of rewriting the game 6 times: 'I actually have a lot of really fond memories of the experience'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/13-years-after-shadows-of-the-damneds-notoriously-difficult-development-with-ea-suda51-has-fully-healed-from-the-injury-of-rewriting-the-game-6-times-i-actually-have-a-lot-of-really-fond-memories-of-the-experience/
In 2011, the idea of a game from No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture being published by EA felt like a total odd couple situation. For years before making Shadows of the Damned, director Suda51 had been talking about a survival horror project called Kurayami inspired by the works of Franz Kafka (it was mentioned in a 2006 issue of Edge magazine; that's how far back we're talking). Eventually God Hand (and Resident Evil, I guess) creator Shinji Mikami joined the Kurayami team, and the two embarked on an expansive pitching tour across the US. The game landed at EA, which—to its credit—then had a far more diverse publishing lineup than it does nowadays, but even then Grasshopper was a surprising collaboration.
(… a history lesson later…)
Now, 13 years later, as we approach the release of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered (without EA's involvement, I might add), I asked Suda51 if his heart is still broken over how the game turned out.
(...)
That trauma has thankfully faded, and Suda still cares for the game; he even brought back Shadows of the Damned as a part of 2019's Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes before this week's release with the Hella Remastered edition. "I want everyone to understand that thinking back on it now, conversely, I actually have a lot of really fond memories of the experience," Suda said. "Thanks for worrying about me though."

Mass Effect director says the next game won't feature any Veilguard-style aesthetic switchups: 'Mass Effect is photorealistic and will be as long as I'm running it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/mass-effect-director-says-the-next-game-wont-feature-any-veilguard-style-aesthetic-switchups-mass-effect-is-photorealistic-and-will-be-as-long-as-im-running-it/
Just two days out from the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, one of BioWare's lead developers is telling us what we can expect from its next long-awaited series revival. Michael Gamble, project director on the next Mass Effect game, took to X yesterday to offer an idea of what kind of look and tone we'll find when we return to Citadel space.

Blizzard is investigating claims that upcoming Hearthstone hero skins are AI generated
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/blizzard-is-investigating-claims-that-upcoming-hearthstone-hero-skins-are-ai-generated/
Blizzard says it is investigating allegations that pixel art designs for new Hearthstone skins slated to be released as part of the The Great Dark Beyond expansion were created with generative AI.

Black Ops 6 is hiding the next Call of Duty: Warzone map in plain sight
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/black-ops-6-is-hiding-the-next-warzone-map-in-plain-sight/
Nothing gets past Call of Duty fans. It took all of 48 hours for Black Ops 6 players to notice that some of its 6v6 multiplayer maps are actually just points of interest plucked from what is very likely the next Warzone map arriving in Season 1.

Monster Hunter Wilds almost ruined Palicoes by letting them speak English, but thankfully you can revert them to meows
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/monster-hunter-wilds-almost-ruined-palicoes-by-letting-them-speak-english-but-thankfully-you-can-revert-them-to-meows/
The Monster Hunter Wilds beta went live on PlayStation 5 last night (three days ahead of Thursday's PC beta), and it's already putting a big ol' grin on my face. The map is huge and beautiful. Riding a Seikret is a blast. My cat speaks English. Carrying two weapo—wait hey now, my cat speaks perfect English? Whaaaaaaat?

Electronic Arts chief says Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a 'return to what made BioWare great'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/electronic-arts-chief-says-dragon-age-the-veilguard-is-a-return-to-what-made-bioware-great/
Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn't out for a couple days yet, but the reviews are here and so far, so good: We scored it 79% in our review, "a genuinely enjoyable, gorgeous action-RPG that lacks the storytelling nuance of previous Dragon Age games," and it holds an even more impressive 84 aggregate score on Metacritic.
Speaking in today's quarterly investors call, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson attributed that positive critical response to what he sees as a genuine return to form for BioWare following the less-than-stellar response to the studio's online shooter Anthem.
>> By the way, here are the transgender and non-binary options in the game.

FF14 director Yoshi-P says transphobic abuse sent to Wuk Lamat's English VA 'breaks my heart', pleads for players to 'refrain from personal attacks'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/ff14-director-yoshi-p-says-transphobic-abuse-sent-to-wuk-lamats-english-va-breaks-my-heart-pleads-for-players-to-refrain-from-personal-attacks/
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's story didn't exactly land with its players. I know because I'm one of them. But while I think a lot of the critiques are pretty understandable, and even asked game director Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) about them at Gamescom this year, the discussion around what went wrong has also been hijacked to peddle hate.

EA's CEO assures players Apex Legends won't be pulling an Overwatch 2 because live service sequels have 'almost never been as successful' as the original
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/eas-ceo-assures-players-apex-legends-wont-be-pulling-an-overwatch-2-because-live-service-sequels-have-almost-never-been-as-successful-as-the-original/
During an earnings call EA's CEO, Andrew Wilson, tackled the question of whether Apex Legends players could expect to get a sequel or a 2.0 version of the game. However, the answer seems pretty clear: It's probably a no.