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

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Monday news, part two:

Following a disastrous beta test, Killing Floor 3 is delayed less than three weeks before launch: 'We've realized we missed the mark'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/following-a-disastrous-open-beta-killing-floor-3-is-delayed-less-than-three-weeks-before-launch-weve-realized-we-missed-the-mark/
The upcoming zombie horde shooter Killing Floor 3 recently held a closed beta test ahead of its planned launch on March 25, and it did not go well at all. The response from Killing Floor fans was so negative that less than three weeks ahead of release, the game has been delayed to an unspecified date later in 2025.

Half-a-dozen 2000AD games were in the works before fizzling out: 'The games you get to see are a tiny representative of the number that get started—sadly'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/around-half-a-dozen-2000ad-games-were-in-the-works-before-fizzling-out-the-games-you-get-to-see-are-a-tiny-representative-of-the-number-that-get-started-sadly/
British studio and publisher Rebellion is gearing up for the release of Atomfall, an alt-history Stalker-like with a stiff upper lip that CEO Jason Kingsley calls a "dream game." PCG's intrepid Joshua Wolens recently spent several hours in the game, and found himself charmed by the endless distractions, a lack of things like quest markers, and the feel of a world where a rusty revolver is an instant argument-ender.
Atomfall is a new direction from a studio that arguably remains best-known for the Sniper Elite series but, especially in the UK, Rebellion is also known as the publisher and owner of the venerable 2000AD. 2000AD is one of the world's greatest science fiction comics, published since 1977, and the amount of original characters and stories it's produced is endless.
(...)
"2000 AD has always been a challenge," Kingsley told PCG in 2018. "I've always said I wanted to do more 2000 AD-based licences in games, but for one reason or another it's never really happened for us. And it's always slightly embarrassing when people ask me, 'why haven't you done more?' Simple answer is, it hasn't happened really.

Rebellion CEO puts the studio's recent avoidance of layoffs down to control of scope and cost: 'Sometimes we say, guys, this game's too big'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/rebellion-ceo-puts-the-studios-recent-avoidance-of-layoffs-down-to-control-of-scope-and-cost-sometimes-we-say-guys-this-games-too-big/
PC Gamer's Joshua Wolens recently spoke to Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley about the studio's extremely British survival FPS Atomfall, which is a kind of Fallout: It's Grim Up North Edition. (Or possibly Stalker: Shadow of Cumbria.) During that conversation, Josh asked how the studio had managed to avoid the layoffageddon that's hit the rest of the games industry following the Covid boom.
"It would be incredibly egotistical to just say it was entirely due to our incredible skill at running a company," Kingsley replied. "I think there's always a little bit of luck involved. I think we control our budgets quite carefully. We have substantial budgets, in terms of millions and millions of pounds, but we don't have hundreds of millions of pounds. We try to make it that we can make a really good game, and it has a very decent chance of making a profit. And that's really what it comes down to."
>> Common sense. It's not so common, after all.

The official Balatro Timeline documents the history of 2024's biggest game as its developer went from 'obsessed' with making it to 'shocked' at the reception
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/the-official-balatro-timeline-documents-the-history-of-2024s-biggest-game-as-its-developer-went-from-obsessed-with-making-it-to-shocked-at-the-reception/
By any measure, Balatro is a phenomenon. A weird little indie card game that came out of nowhere in 2023, it earned rave reviews when it launched in early 2024, claimed our Game of the Year crown, and has some of the biggest developers and publishers in the world lining up to get in on the action.
Today, a little over a year after its release, developer LocalThunk has shared the official "Balatro Timeline," a detailed and surprisingly dramatic rundown of how it all came to be (including, in case you were curious, the origins of his name) that's also just a straight ton of fun to read.

Microsoft's Civilization 7 competitor escalates tensions with Firaxis' embattled 4X, announcing that nukes are coming with its impending diplomacy update
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/microsofts-civilization-7-competitor-escalates-tensions-with-firaxis-embattled-4x-announcing-that-nukes-are-coming-with-its-impending-diplomacy-update/
Ara: History Untold was a decent attempt by Microsoft to snatch some strategic territory from Firaxis' Civilization series, but all its sabre-rattling didn't seem to come to much when it launched last September. Perhaps this is due to the fact its pleasingly modular city construction was undermined by hefty micromanagement. Or maybe it's because it launched without some key features, like a diplomacy system deeper than a puddle, and more specifically, the ability to annihilate rival cultures in a flash of nuclear fire.
Both will be addressed by Ara's impending Diplomacy Update, which Oxide Games recently announced is "coming soon". Patch 1.3 adds a bunch of features to Ara, including new diplomatic options, new diplomatic events, and, of course, the ability to build and launch nuclear weapons.

Planet Coaster 2's spring roadmap splashes down, with 'round-bottomed flumes' coming in March and buildable restaurants arriving in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/planet-coaster-2s-spring-roadmap-splashes-down-with-round-bottomed-flumes-coming-in-march-and-buildable-restaurants-arriving-in-april/
Planet Coaster 2 may have endured some ups and downs when it launched back in October, but Frontier Developments' post-release support for its theme-park building sequel has been as steady as a lazy river. January brought improved flume simulation to the sequel's all-new waterslides, while February added video billboards players can create their own custom adverts for. Now, Frontier has unveiled its roadmap for the next few updates landing over the spring, and there are some substantial new features being added to the management sim in the coming months.

Parents are suing Epic over Fortnite item shop 'FOMO' timers they say are inaccurate and manipulative
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/parents-are-suing-epic-over-fortnite-item-shop-fomo-timers-they-say-are-inaccurate-and-manipulative/
First reported by Polygon, two parents in the US are suing Epic Games over limited-time sales of Fortnite skins and cosmetics that they argue aren't really limited time at all, creating a false sense of "FOMO"—a term actually used in the lawsuit—for Fortnite's younger players.

'I think only the shotguns are the same,' says Doom: The Dark Ages director, otherwise the guns are brand-new or significantly transformed
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/i-think-only-the-shotguns-are-the-same-says-doom-the-dark-ages-director-otherwise-the-guns-are-brand-new-or-significantly-transformed/
Speaking to Doom: The Dark Ages game director Hugo Martin and producer Marty Stratton for our Doom cover story in the upcoming issue 408 (396 in the US) of PC Gamer's print magazine, the two had plenty to say about the FPS' arsenal.
"I think only the shotguns are the same," Martin said of the guns in The Dark Ages. "The plasma is so different, so the rest are brand new. That was by design, really making sure that we were giving you new tools to master."
>> One of the new weapons is the Skullcrusher

Doom: The Dark Ages already sneakily revealed its 'new Marauder,' and the devs hope he'll be just as challenging, but a little less frustrating
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/doom-the-dark-ages-already-sneakily-revealed-its-new-marauder-and-the-devs-hope-hell-be-just-as-challenging-but-a-little-less-frustrating/
Speaking to Doom: The Dark Ages project director Hugo Martin and producer Marty Stratton for our upcoming print issue 408 (396 in the US), I had to ask about the Marauder.
This infamous miniboss in Doom Eternal split the player base, with some loving its next-level challenge, while others decried it as an unwelcome difficulty spike. With The Dark Ages' equivalent enemy, Martin and Stratton hope to offer a similarly memorable challenge that doesn't catch players off-guard to the same extent.
>> If you want a challenge, you can try to beat the game without using a gun.

Doom: The Dark Ages won't end with the Slayer in a coffin waiting for the start of Doom 2016: 'That would mean that we couldn't tell any more medieval stories'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/doom-the-dark-ages-wont-end-with-the-slayer-in-a-coffin-waiting-for-the-start-of-doom-2016-that-would-mean-that-we-couldnt-tell-any-more-medieval-stories/
Talking to Doom: The Dark Ages game director Hugo Martin and producer Marty Stratton for the cover story of PC Gamer's upcoming print issue 408 (396 in the US), I had to ask what they thought about "the prequel problem."
Doom 2016 begins with the Slayer locked in a coffin with all his friends long-dead, and Doom Eternal goes into greater detail sketching out how heroically tragic the Slayer's Night Sentinel buddies were. Won't this story wind up being a big 'ole Halo Reach-style bummer?
But Stratton and Martin were willing to reveal a surprising detail about The Dark Ages' ending: It won't conclude with the Slayer locked in that coffin, and may leave the door open for future prequel stories.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 celebrates 7 years of rat bashing with a new versus map and double XP for all players, but its hotly anticipated weapon pack 'won't be coming out this year'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/warhammer-vermintide-2-celebrates-7-years-of-rat-bashing-with-a-new-versus-map-and-double-xp-for-all-players-but-its-hotly-anticipated-weapon-pack-wont-be-coming-out-this-year/
It's preposterous to me that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is seven years old, when that's so clearly the length of time that has passed since Left4Dead 2 launched. Sadly, Steam, the calendar, and indeed the universe all state that I am wrong, so I suppose I'll just have to go along with Fatshark's celebration of its cooperative Skaven-smasher's seventh birthday.
Headlining the anniversary festivities is the return of the event "A Quiet Drink", a unique, limited time mission in which the Ubersreik five head out into Helmgart in search of a pint (or more specifically, a whole casket of Bugman's brew). Needless to say, this hunt for a laid-back beverage proves anything but relaxing, and chaotic, bloody shenanigans ensue. Although this is a reintroduced level rather than a new one, players who complete it will net themselves a fancy portrait frame themed around something extraordinarily unpleasant being done to a pig.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2's director had big plans for a third entry in the series, with your squad reuniting for an impossible mission amid a war between Russia and the US over Alaska
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-bad-company-2s-director-had-big-plans-for-a-third-entry-in-the-series-with-your-squad-reuniting-for-an-impossible-mission-amid-a-war-between-russia-and-the-us-over-alaska/
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 remains one of the most beloved of DICE's multiplayer shooters, thrilling players with its destructible warzones and cementing the Swedish studio's reputation for incredible audio design. Despite the game's reputation, DICE never greenlit a third entry in the spinoff series. But that didn't stop BC2's director David Goldfarb from making plans for one all the same.

Rust's crafting update gives the survival sim real-time food cooking and pies to rival Monster Hunter, but the tastiest treat is the ability to make and throw 'bee grenades'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/rusts-crafting-update-gives-the-survival-sim-real-time-food-cooking-and-pies-to-rival-monster-hunter-but-the-tastiest-treat-is-the-ability-to-make-and-throw-bee-grenades/
Video gaming is currently in an arms race (or should that be 'farms race') to depict the most delectable virtual food possible. It’s a race variously led by the Yakuza series, Final Fantasy, and most recently, Monster Hunter: Wilds, which features a cheese naan so mouthwatering it caused a sales surge of dairy-filled bread products in Japan.
Now, brutal survival sim Rust is getting in on the culinary action, with its arguably misnamed 'Crafting update' placing a big emphasis on home cooking. Described by developer Facepunch as bringing a "feast of changes" to the game, it adds numerous features dedicated to the creation of haute cuisine.

At least it's not NFTs this time: The new Wizardry RPG is a gacha game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/at-least-its-not-nfts-this-time-the-new-wizardry-rpg-is-a-gacha-game/
Back in 1981, the original Wizardry, subtitled Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, was the first party-based CRPG. It was a hit both in the west and Japan, where it even had its own anime. The series it inspired has recently been revived, and the results are a bit of a mixed bag. There's a faithful remake of the original, sure. There's also a blockchain abomination with Minecraft-looking characters, who are also NFTs.
And there's a gacha game. Wizardry Variants Daphne, originally released on mobile and now available on Steam, plays like an OG dungeon-crawl blobber. It's first-person with grid-based movement, your entire party traveling with you in a blob as you explore dungeons full of hobgoblins and open trapped treasure chests. But among the things you collect in those dungeons are the bones of lost adventurers you can revive, and who come from a random selection complete with rarity tiers. Also there are about a dozen currencies, and season passes.

Overwatch 2 is launching another Le Sserafirm collab with 'more transformative' skin designs, guided by Blizzard Korea's keen eye for Korean trends and street style
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-is-launching-another-le-sserafirm-collab-with-more-transformative-skin-designs-guided-by-blizzard-koreas-keen-eye-for-korean-trends-and-street-style/
Back in 2023, Overwatch harnessed the dread power of K-Pop, releasing a collaboration with Le Sserafim that included a debut song, five hero skins, and a new game mode. A lot has changed in the last couple of years, but one thing that has stayed steadfast is the Overwatch team's love for K-pop collaborations, as we'll be getting a whole new Le Sserafim event next week.