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

[JEMC]

Friday news, part number two:

The PC Gaming Show returns this June
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-pc-gaming-show-returns-this-june/
The PC Gaming Show will return this year with another blockbuster broadcast on Twitch, YouTube, X and Steam on June 8, 2025.
The first of two shows planned for 2025—with Most Wanted also set to return later this year—June’s showcase will spotlight over 50 games on PC, Steam Deck, Linux and MacOS while celebrating all things PC gaming.

Venerable browser-based MMO Urban Dead is closing this week after a 20-year run, not with a bang but with a whimper
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/venerable-browser-based-mmo-urban-dead-is-closing-this-week-after-a-20-year-run-not-with-a-bang-but-with-a-whimper/
Urban Dead, the browser-based MMO that nearly got me kicked out of college, is shutting down this week after 19 years, 8 months and 11 days.
The MMO, which put players in control of either survivors or zombies in the fictionalised city of Malton, played out in real time, with players given one "tick" of activity every 30 minutes. Sessions could be wrapped up in about 10-15 minutes, but players soon grouped together to take their actions at the same time, injecting a large-scale strategic element into the action, and the early IRC chat around the game meant it could become all-encompassing.
(...)
The final destruction of Malton isn't down to a new zombie mutation or a win for the scant few survivors remaining, though. The blame is, instead, the UK's Online Safety Act which comes into effect later this month. In an update on the website, creator Kevan Davis writes, "With the possibility of heavy corporate-sized fines even for solo web projects like this one, I've reluctantly concluded that it doesn't look feasible for Urban Dead to be able to continue operating."
>> Well, that’s a shame.

Rainbow Six Siege is getting its first permanent mode in 10 years, and it throws every Siege rule out the window
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/rainbow-six-siege-is-getting-its-first-permanent-mode-in-10-years-and-it-breaks-every-siege-rule-in-the-book/
When you've been playing Rainbow Six Siege as long as I have, it's hard not to reflexively snarl at your first round of Dual Front: a new permanent, 6v6 mode coming in Year 10 Season 2.
In development for years as part of Siege X, the tactical FPS's "not quite a sequel" refresh coinciding with its 10th year of updates, Dual Front goes beyond a gimmicky event mode. It throws all the rules of its time-tested, highly competitive Bomb format out the window, expanding the lobby size by two, enabling respawns, and most heretical of all, letting attackers and defenders play on the same team.
>> Another change: it’s going partially free to play.

Fate: Reawakened gives the nostalgic 20-year-old action RPG series a new lease on life
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fate-reawakened-gives-the-nostalgic-20-year-old-action-rpg-series-a-new-lease-on-life/
Who here remembers WildTangent? Back when digital distribution seemed like a novel idea and Steam was a new and unproven storefront, it was one of the bigger distributors of games online, and a cute little Diablo and Nethack-inspired dungeon crawler named Fate was its flagship title. Smash-cut twenty years ahead to the present day, and it’s rolling out now on Steam for one last tour as Fate: Reawakened, a polished-up remaster that incorporates the original Fate along with its three formerly standalone expansions.

Hello Sunshine is a desert survival sandbox where you live in the literal shadow of the colossus
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/hello-sunshine-is-a-desert-survival-sandbox-where-you-live-in-the-literal-shadow-of-the-colossus/
How do you follow up a nordic noir mystery, followed by an anti-fascist pop-punk road trip? With a game about hiking through a post-apocalyptic desert and dodging sunburn in the shadow of your giant war-bot buddy, of course. Hello Sunshine is the next game from Norwegian indie outfit Red Thread Games (led by Longest Journey and Dreamfall director Ragnar Tørnquist) and looks to be an interestingly different take on the survival sandbox.

This RuneScape-looking 'simulated MMORPG' has all the nostalgia without the drama because all the other 'players' are NPCs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/this-runescape-looking-simulated-mmorpg-has-all-the-nostalgia-without-the-drama-because-all-the-other-players-are-npcs/
The ideal MMO experience is one where everyone is happy to join your party and your teammates never stand up to go take a dump during a raid—which is exactly the idyllic throwback MMO-like experience filled by Erenshor, the "singleplayer simulated MMO" where all the other players around you are NPCs. It's got a demo out now and a newly announced early access launch date too.

One of my favorite indie RPGs is getting a follow-up made with FromSoftware's 25-year-old Super Mario Maker for first person dungeon crawlers
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/one-of-my-favorite-indie-rpgs-is-getting-a-follow-up-made-with-fromsoftwares-25-year-old-super-mario-maker-for-first-person-dungeon-crawlers/
The excellent 2023 first person RPG Lunacid is getting the last (but coolest) follow-up I ever would have expected. Lunacid: Tears of the Moon is a spinoff made with Sword of Moonlight, an incredible little game-making toolkit released by FromSoftware all the way back in 2000, and Tears of the Moon is releasing next month.

All Genshin Impact 5.5 livestream codes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/genshin-impact-codes-5-5-livestream/
The Genshin Impact 5.5 codes are here. Yet another version has passed, and that means a new livestream detailing all the quests, events, and most importantly characters, set to arrive in the latest update. That's not all—as usual, miHoYo will drop three codes during the stream that provide materials, currency, and Primogems that you can use to wish for any new or returning characters.

Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale, who played femshep, 'saw no line' before she recorded them for Bioware's flagship trilogy: 'It was all cold reading on the spot'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mass-effect/mass-effects-jennifer-hale-who-played-femshep-saw-no-line-before-she-recorded-them-for-biowares-flagship-trilogy-it-was-all-cold-reading-on-the-spot/
Voice acting has been an underestimated profession for a while now—and, while things have certainly improved, there are new fights for voiceover artists to grapple with, like the knock-down, drag-out fight SAG-AFTRA is currently embroiled in over AI.
That's why Astarion's voice actor, Neil Newbon, has assembled a group of actors called the 'Pixel Pack', as revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. The full interview spans a few big-name talents like Matthew Mercer and Yuri Lowenthal, and is well worth a read—though one quote from Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale really stands as an example of how rough voice actors have had it.

The hooligan hacker guild that tore up WoW's newest raid (twice) just posted video evidence of the whole thing, and it's got me feeling weirdly nostalgic
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/the-hooligan-hacker-guild-that-tore-up-wows-newest-raid-twice-just-posted-video-evidence-of-the-whole-thing-and-its-got-me-feeling-weirdly-nostalgic/
I want to open this article like a responsible adult and say that, generally-speaking, you shouldn't be trying to exploit, break, or hack an online videogame. I mean, you're (probably) an adult, you can make your own choices—it's just inadvisable, unless you want to get banned. In some cases you might even be staring down the barrel of legal action so, seriously: Don't.
That being said, RAoV Quality Assurance (or, I should say, "ecnarussAeR ytilauQ VoAR") have been on a near-impressive spree of digital hooliganism. To put a long story short, this guild gained "world first" on WoW's latest patch raid, Undermine(d), by taking advantage of some developer spells. They got banned, made new accounts, reversed their guild name, and did it again. Now, they've posted a video about it.

And these are the weekend deals at GOG and Steam. This will be quick:

+GOG

• Only one deal here, a Square Enix Publisher Sale, with games up to 90% off during 13 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20250314_square_enix_publisher_sale

+Steam

• This one is easy, just go and check the Spring Sale

Nothing else to add, except for wishing you all a happy and gaming weekend.