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

[JEMC]

Time for the Wednesday news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam has three new deals:

• Dungeon Tycoon will be 35% off until the 25th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2400770/Dungeon_Tycoon/
• The Early Access title SILENT BREATH has a 55% discount until February, the 25th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2796180/SILENT_BREATH/
• And Sizeable, that has a demo, will be 90% off until the same 25th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1333910/Sizeable/

At the Humble Store we find the On Sale This Week page, with lots of games on sale with up to 95% discounts during 8 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/on-sale-now/.

Fanatical has one new sale and two bundles:

• The Capcom Fire Deals also come to Fanatical with up to 89% deals during 11 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/capcom
• The BYO Simulator Collection, with 18 games to choose for your bundles of 2+, 3+ or 5+ during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-simulator-collection
• Meanwhile, the BYO Special Editions Bundle (BundleFest 2025) features 21 titles to choose for your 2+, 3+ or 5+ bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-special-editions-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 25.2.1 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-25-2-1
Highlights
New Game Support

• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
• Avowed
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Fixed Issues

• Partial black screen may appear in Main Menu while playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 with Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 and Ray Tracing enabled on AMD Ryzen™ 7000 and above series processors.
• Unable to set low black values when using MyXrayDose ViewIQ.

2 years into Unity's long downward spiral, even more employees are being laid off as CEO says it's still 'stretched across too many products'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/2-years-into-unitys-long-downward-spiral-even-more-employees-are-being-laid-off-as-ceo-says-its-still-stretched-across-too-many-products/
A year after laying off 25% of its workforce in what it called "a company reset," engine maker Unity has reportedly put even more people out of work. The layoffs were reported by multiple Unity employees on LinkedIn (via Game Developer) and while the number of people let go is currently unknown, a post on the Unity forums says the entire team responsible for Unity Behavior, a tool used to develop and control the behaviors of NPCs in videogames, has been let go.
The latest round of layoffs at Unity seem to have come as a surprise to at least some impacted employees: One wrote in LinkedIn that the cuts were "totally unexpected," while another wrote that he "didn't expect it to happen so suddenly." A third employee said he was notified of the layoffs by "a 5 am email from 'noreply@unity' informing me that my role was being 'eliminated' and that I’d lose system access by the end of the day."
(...)
In an internal email obtained by 80.lv, current Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg said the company is "currently stretched across too many products, creating complexity and limiting impact."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

There are already Civilization 7 mods that improve the UI, unlock all civs, and add 'ludicrous'-sized maps
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/there-are-already-civilization-7-mods-to-change-the-ui-unlock-all-civs-and-add-ludicrous-sized-maps/
Civilization 7 is officially here, and with it comes (at least for now) a "Mixed" review status on Steam and a lot of complaints about the 4X strategy's UI. While we're keeping up with all the latest Civ 7 news and developments, the community has been busy too: the first Civ 7 mods have arrived on the same day as the game's global launch.
This is the rare occasion where I'm not directing you to Nexus Mods: the early mods that have appeared for Civ 7 are over at the civfanatics.com forums. There aren't a ton of them yet, but there are definitely a few to point out.
Right out of the gate, there are a couple of mods that address one of the biggest complaints about Civ 7: the UI. Civ 7's interface is taking a serious pounding: I've seen Steam reviewers calling it "buggy," "inconsistent," "junk," "a total disaster," and most damningly, "somehow worse than Civ 6."
Firaxis has already issued a patch to address a few of the complaints about the UI and I suspect there will be more coming, but in the meantime you might check out Sukritact's Simple UI Adjustments. I haven't tried it myself yet, but it's got nothing but 5-star ratings in the forums. (…)
Another mod is also focused on improving the UI: TCS Improved Plot Tooltop adds tons more info so it's easier to find what you need, including leader relationship status, settlement ownership, flags for obsolete or unique buildings, district types, and other useful tidbits you can spy at a glance.
If you're an eager beaver and are interested in instant gratification, check out the Civ 7 Unlock All Civs mod. With it, you no longer have to meet the requirements to access civilizations when you reach the Exploration and Modern Ages, they're all immediately available to you.
Work is already underway on bringing you bigger maps, with a beta of Larger Map, TSL, Continents++ available to download. It unlocks "large" and "huge" map sizes and adds a "massive" (128x80) map. The mod also lists experimental (not playable) "giant" maps (180x94) and "ludicrous" maps (230x116) to test out.
>> With so many mods listed, it’s understandable that there’s no media in the article.

Take a new look at Dark Messiah of Might and Magic RTX Remix
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-new-look-at-dark-messiah-of-might-and-magic-rtx-remix/
NVIDIA has shared a new trailer for the RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. This trailer will give you a glimpse at the current state of the mod. Plus, it has some cool before/after comparison scenes.
Created by wiltOS Technologies, this mod aims to add full ray tracing, updated textures, assets, lighting, and more. Once the mod is complete, this will be the definitive way to play this classic game. So, here is hoping that the modders will keep working on it.
>> The article includes the less than 2 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

Crysis 4 is no longer in active development
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/crysis-4-is-no-longer-in-active-development/
In 2022, Crytek announced the next part of its Crysis series (which, at least for now, we’ll be calling “Crysis 4”). However, this new Crysis game is no longer in active development. In fact, as Crytek itself revealed, it put its development on hold in Q3 2024.
>> As the PCGamer article states, Crytek has also laid off 15% of its employees.