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

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Monday news, the second part:

Fortnite has 58 creators that got paid over $1 million in 2024, and 7 of those made over $10 million
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/fortnite-has-58-creators-that-got-paid-over-usd1-million-in-2024-and-7-of-those-made-over-usd10-million/
Epic has released a 2024 "Year in Review" of the Fortnite creator ecosystem and, surprise surprise, there are a lot of big numbers to be had. As well as an overview of the year just gone, the publisher also took the opportunity to share some of the future plans for Fortnite which, going by these figures, is simply bigger than ever.

Former BioWare vet says the studio is focused on a single game 'for the first time maybe ever' with Mass Effect 5—and whether that's good or bad is anyone's guess
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/former-bioware-vet-says-the-studio-is-focused-on-a-single-game-for-the-first-time-maybe-ever-with-mass-effect-5-and-whether-thats-good-or-bad-is-anyones-guess/
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is one heck of a mixed bag—receiving a spread of good and bad praise from critics, some resentment from its fans, and apparently falling far from the mark financially. It's also done now, with no plans for major DLC in the pipeline—sort of a first for the series, overall.
That, according to BioWare veteran Mark Darrah, presents a first for the studio as a whole. Darrah, a consultant on Dragon Age: The Veilguard who served as an executive producer at the studio for 24 whole years before that, posted a video to his YouTube channel (via GamesRadar) that paints a fascinating picture of the company's history and the unusual position it's now in.

The team behind one of 2024's hidden gems is following it up with a stop-motion 'relaxed digging and discovery' game about a happy robot's underground adventures beneath a lake of slime
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/the-team-behind-one-of-2024s-hidden-gems-is-following-it-up-with-a-stop-motion-relaxed-digging-and-discovery-game-about-a-happy-robots-underground-adventures-beneath-a-lake-of-slime/
One of last year's biggest pleasant surprises was Judero, a surreal little adventure by a two-man team whose art consisted entirely of action figures and other handmade, physical objects digitized as sprites and textures or animated in stop-motion cutscenes. Developer Talha & Jack Co. is already working on what's next: Mashina.

'When the world ends, people just dance': As another MMO comes to an end, players come together for a final farewell rave
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/when-the-world-ends-people-just-dance-as-another-mmo-comes-to-an-end-players-come-together-for-a-final-farewell-rave/
Bandai Namco announced the end of the anime MMO Blue Protocol in August 2024, setting the date for its demise as January 18, 2025. Fans made their displeasure known, but when the sad day finally arrived they met it with grace and style, dancing and partying into their final oblivion.

By opting out of an open world for Avowed, Obsidian says it can give players more interesting choices to make: 'Pacing is really tough in open world games'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/by-opting-out-of-an-open-world-for-avowed-obsidian-says-it-can-give-players-more-interesting-choices-to-make-pacing-is-really-tough-in-open-world-games/
Earlier today, Xbox Wire published a lengthy interview with Obsidian, in which the studio laid out its philosophy for storytelling, narrative design, and handling player choice in Avowed. Given that it's a Microsoft-published story about a Microsoft-published game, it's a bit fawning, but it's worth a read to see Obsidian explaining how it works to make player decisions both satisfying and believable. And, as it turns out, doing that is a lot easier when you're not working with an open world.
>> And they also showed the character creation tool on Twitter (f*ck X).

Assassin's Creed Shadows started with a single Ghost of Tsushima-like protagonist, but 'it's not representing what the samurai and shinobi are if it's the same character'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-shadows-started-with-a-single-ghost-of-tsushima-like-protagonist-but-its-not-representing-what-the-samurai-and-shinobi-are-if-its-the-same-character/
I bet some of you had the same reaction I did when Ubisoft first told us that Assassin's Creed Shadows would have two protagonists: Why do you need sneaky shinobi Naoe and stalwart samurai Yasuke when you could just make one character who's super stealthy and a master swordsman? It worked well enough for Ezio back in the day and sounds like a lot less effort. Not to mention there's a very successful Japan-set open world game specifically about a samurai-shinobi called Ghost of Tsushima.
Turns out Shadows was once on a Tsushima-like trajectory, but Ubisoft made the decision early on to split its fantasies in two.

Ascend through 'ten thousand meters of concrete and decay' in this horrifying 'first-person roguelite speed-climbing game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/ascend-through-ten-thousand-meters-of-concrete-and-decay-in-this-horrifying-first-person-roguelite-speed-climbing-game/
If you've ever thought to yourself, I wonder what Jusant would be like if David Szymanski made it, you'll be thrilled to hear about White Knuckle, "a first-person roguelite speed-climbing game" being developed by three-person indie studio Dark Machine Games. Even better, you can partake in its unique horrors right now thanks to a free demo on Steam.

WoW's Plunderstorm battle royale mode is much more popular the second time around: 'I can just play and screw around'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wow-plunderstorm-popularity/
World of Warcraft's controversial battle royale mode relaunched a week ago, once again pitting PvE mount and transmog collectors against hardcore PvP enjoyers. And this time around… almost no one is complaining.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2 will let players battle on boats and bullet-trains, with the Terminator entering the fray 'shortly after launch'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-season-2-will-let-players-battle-on-boats-and-bullet-trains-with-the-terminator-entering-the-fray-shortly-after-launch/
I thought I was above getting excited over brand crossovers in multiplayer shooters, so it is to my great shame I admit my heart rate spiked when Activision revealed the Terminator is coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Look, everybody has a weakness, and there hasn't been a good Terminator film in over thirty years, so at least I can pretend I'm in one by gunning down teenagers as James Cameron's cyborg assassin.
I've skipped ahead a bit here. The Terminator was teased on Call of Duty's blog as part of Black Ops 6's Season 2 update, but Arnie's crimson-eyed killing machine won't arrive through the time portal until shortly after Season 2 drops. But there's plenty coming to Black Ops 6 in Season 2 itself, including a cache of new maps, two multiplayer game modes, and a horde of updates to zombies.

Celeste developer starts 2025 with a 'huge, heartbreaking, and yet relieving failure' as creative difficulties and internal conflict lead to the cancellation of Earthblade
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/celeste-developer-starts-2025-with-a-huge-heartbreaking-and-yet-relieving-failure-as-creative-difficulties-and-internal-conflict-lead-to-the-cancellation-of-earthblade/
Celeste developer Extremely Ok Games has announced the "difficult decision" to cancel its follow-up project Earthblade, citing long term creative difficulties compounded by a conflict within the studio regarding the rights to Celeste.